Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and today we’re going to talk about editing. What can you do to catch not-so-obvious grammar errors that pop up in your writing by accident?
One of the best self-editing techniques I’ve learned as a fiction writer is to write everything a day in advance of the deadline and then sleep on it. When you come back to your computer in the morning, rested or caffeinated as the case may be, pull up a blank sheet next to your document from the previous day and re-type everything. Being forced to read each word individually does wonders for concision. After all, you don’t want to type anything you don’t absolutely need. Also, it forces you to pay attention to the details – the individual words and punctuation marks.
Of course, this technique is primarily effective for longer pieces of writing that require multiple drafts, not necessarily the email you have to send right away. For that, tune in on Thursday.
That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.