10 pieces of editing advice for writers, from writers

1. Take a break before editing

If you’ve been writing something for hours or over a span of days or weeks, it can be tiring. It’s important to take a break once you’ve written a draft before you start editing it. Step away from your work to gain a fresh perspective. Your break can be for a couple of hours, up to a couple of weeks, depending on how much time you have before your first deadline. Use Microsoft Outlook’s built-in calendar feature to schedule reminders for you to check in on your work with a refreshed mind.

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2. Read the piece entirely

Focus on the bigger picture before editing the smaller details. Read the piece in full before you macro-edit it. Address structural concerns, inconsistencies, and character development if there are characters. Select Outline in Microsoft Word’s View menu to quickly work through the high-level view of your writing. This outline can make it easier for you to catch and correct any major flaws with the organization and flow of your work.

3. Rewrite sentences

Strong sentence structure can make or break your writing. Make your writing more effective with clear and concise sentences. Awkward sentence structure can be hard to notice when you’ve been writing for a while, so use the Read Aloud feature in Microsoft Word to help you. This feature will read your writing aloud, and you’ll be able to hear any strangely worded and arranged sentences. Once you identify sentences that need rewriting, try to make them shorter and remove any unnecessary jargon.

4. Remove redundancies

Sometimes, you write how you speak. Although it might not be as noticeable when you say repetitive phrases or redundant words, using them in your writing can hinder your work’s overall flow. Use Microsoft Word’s Find and Replace functions to locate and rewrite words and phrases that you typically overuse. If you’re having a hard time figuring out what to use as a replacement, Word has a built-in thesaurus to help you find alternative phrasing while still maintaining the meaning and intent you want.

5. Micro-edit punctuation and grammar

Your writing can lose its integrity if you have misspelled words or improper grammar. Correcting punctuation, spelling, and grammar doesn’t have to be a difficult task. Use Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar checker during the editing process. This tool will point out words, phrases, and sentences that are potentially misspelled or improperly structured. The checker will also provide replacement suggestions. However, you should still use your discretion to ensure your intended meaning and writing style say the same.

6. Strengthen the overall voice

If you’re writing a story, you know how valuable dialogue and voice are in keeping the reader focused as the storyline evolves. Ensure your characters have consistent voices throughout your text. Track changes or leave comments next to quotes or dialogue that you want to edit. Once you’ve improved the dialogue and voice to your liking, accept the tracked changes and resolve the comments so you can move to the next step in the editing process.

7. Proofread again

Now that you’ve made it this far in the editing process, you’ve probably made a lot of changes to your original draft. Proofread it again to catch any errors or inconsistences you might’ve missed the first time or may have added with your updated text. Use Word’s built-in tools and functions again, like the spelling and grammar checker and the built-in thesaurus to help you catch remaining mistakes. Use Microsoft OneNote to take notes on any repeated spelling or grammar errors you make so you can be mindful of not making them again in your next body of work.

8. Ask for feedback from others

You might not pick up on the different writer quirks you have when you’re editing your work. Ask another writer, or two, to read over your text and leave comments for you to review. If they use Word to edit your writing, they can also track changes directly (from the Review menu) in the document. You’ll be able to see their suggestions embedded into your work, and you can accept, reject, or edit their tracked changes.

9. Finalize the layout

Before submitting the first draft of your work, review its formatting and layout. Make sure the font style and paragraph spacing are consistent. Use page layout settings to adjust the formatting based on how you want to set up your document. Microsoft Word has built-in design features that can help you enhance the presentation of your writing.

10. Start the editing process again

Now that you’ve made it through those nine pieces of editing advice, the final step is to repeat the process. Editing is a timed task that should be done more than once. You might catch new errors and inconsistencies the second round. Even if you don’t see any new corrections, you may want to change the wording of some of your sentences once you read them with fresh eyes.

The editing process requires you to be attentive to details big and small. Take advantage of features and tools built into Microsoft 365 apps to simplify the editing process and elevate your writing’s quality. From the high-level read to formatting, these 10 pieces of editing advice can help your writing resonate with your audience.