Edit That

I am curious to see how important grammar and punctuation are when it comes to reading enjoyment. There are many reasons we may not finish a book—maybe the story did not match the blurb, the pace wasn't right, the characters were unlikable.

I want to eventually adress all these issues, but first, I'd like to know if you ever DNFd a novel due to more technical reasons (this may be more common with fanfics since published works tend to go through multiple stages of editing).

Yes, most of us write fanfiction for ourselves, in our free time, and as a way to release stress. This means that, more often than not, we do not have the will or energy to spend hours editing our latest one-shot or the newest chapter for that longfic we updated...uh...has it already been five months??

While I wholeheartedly agree that we shouldn't strive to be perfect in the things we do for pleasure (and what counts as perfection in a highly subjective field such as literature?), you don't need to spend tens of hours on your World, Doc, or Scrivener file to apply some crucial edits.

Even a quick second read-through can be enough to spot those little mistakes and inconsistencies that don't let your writing shine as it deserves. And yes, beta readers are a wonderful thing to have as a fanfic (and pro) writer, but not all of us have access to one (or we may be too shy to individually share our stories with people we know).

So, how should we go about this and what can we spot in a 15/20-minute reread?

Any good revision begins with a fresh, impartial eye, meaning: WAIT. Even an hour or two will do. Do not start editing immediately after writing. I know you really want to post your story or start the next section, but trust me, your brain is so synced with what you just wrote that it can recite it like a top-notch Shakespearean actor. Take a break from it, go run some errands, go to the gym, read a book, or even edit a completely different piece. Then, come back to it and wait for the "Oh my, what on Earth was I thinking?" eureka moment to come.

Punctuation matters. It may seem like it doesn't in the grand scheme of things, but it does. Why? Because when we read, even unconsciously, we fall into the flow of the text. As readers, we follow the words to guide us into the scenes they depict, and a misplaced comma or semicolon can disrupt that flow and make us do a double take. It makes the story feel clunky and hard to read, potentially causing readers to DNF. Once the flow is gone, it can be hard to get back into it.

Spelling matters, too. Similar to the point above, spelling mistakes can be harmful to readers' enjoyment of the story. One here and there is not a huge issue, but if you consistently misspell words, the text will feel clunky and hard to get through, especially for non-native speakers. I'd recommend the Merriam-Webster (for US English) or the Cambridge (UK English) dictionaries, they are free, easy to search, and have great thesauruses and writing tips.

Dialogue tags. "He said," "she shouted," "they laughed," etc. They're great until they aren't. While they are good at emphasizing who is speaking, they can become overwhelming for readers if overused. They also risk making the text repetitive and flat. I'll tackle ways to adapt these tags in a later post, but for now, if you think you have too many speech tags in your story, try to highlight which character is talking with their actions and behaviors. Make it clear enough so readers know without the need to have it spelled out for them.

Repeated words VS synonyms fest. As mentioned in the point above, word repetition can make your story feel flat. What do I mean by that? That readers feel as if they are reading a legal document or a tax return where only specific terms can be used. Fiction is magnificent because there are literally billions of words at your disposal across so many languages! If you're brave enough, you can even pull a Tolkien and make up your own (an excellent tool for immersion, especially in fantasy and sci-fi). So, if you spot the same word or character name being used multiple times within 10/15 lines, get rid of it. Either find a suitable synonym or rephrase the sentence so it doesn't include that term anymore. Just be careful not to swing too far to the other end and turn your story into a glorified thesaurus.

These are 5 quick proofreading and editing tips that do not take too long but can elevate your writing to match your amazing ideas!

Hi writers and editors!

I’m Lu, a freelance editor (and data scientist by day) who geeks out over character arcs, pacing fixes, and sentences that just hit the spot. This blog is for:

Breaking down editing techniques (from line edits to big-picture rewrites)

Celebrating fanworks and original fiction—because yes, I will happily analyse your WIP’s lore consistency and your blorbos/OCs' characterisation

Sharing my own writing struggles—I’m drafting a sci-fantasy and a historical novel, so I feel your pain

What to expect: ✅ Before/after edits (with permission!) ✅ Rants about common manuscript pitfalls ✅ Occasional memes about the writing process

Want help? Ask me anything—or submit a snippet for a free mini-critique!

(Also accepting prompts like: “How would you edit [famous book’s] opening?” or “Fix this terrible sentence I wrote at 3 AM.”)

Let’s make words better together. 💻✨