Four Levels of Editing
Today we edited our stories using the criteria below. If you were absent today, ensure that you get your story edited by at least two people who use these criteria. Next, you use the criteria below to re-write/revise your story.
Surface Editing
- mechanics
- diction
- syntax
- sentence structure
- consistent verb tense
Rhythm Editing
- the music of the piece
- sound devices (assonance, alliteration, dissonance but also rhythm, rhyme, repetition,
- sentence variety (length, type, how they begin)
- scenes, half scenes, dialogue, description
- paragraphs (how many? length? purpose?
- consistency
Structural Editing
- What holds it together?
- Imagine putting together a quilt? What is in the foreground? Background?
- Are you using a space montage or a time montage?
- Time sequences, first, next, thn, last night, I rember, if only, ...
- Tell it slant (only show/tell what is essential, allow the reader to infer)
- Use a variety of descriptive methods, reveal indirectly for the most part
- The vision/idea that is moving the story forward
- Where is the heart of the story? Find it? Why did you choose to write about it?
- The vision is revealed as you write and re-write
- The story is something that you care about.
- The vision rises from the story: YOU CANNOT IMPOSE IT.
- It has to matter.
- The story will scare you . . . delight you . . . engage you . . . because you will actually get to see in a very dramatic way what you care about.
If you need an extension, ask.
Vocabulary Test: Tuesday. All 25 words. Know their meanings, their part of speech and how to use them in a sentence.
