I have uploaded a new "Words for Writers" post to my website, this time on the importance of having a second pair of eyes on your manuscript. Called a beta reader (like a beta-tester in programming), a secondary reader, or sometimes just a straight up editor, having someone else read through your work is an invaluable step in the editing process. This is important because while writing a story, writers live very deeply within them. We can be blind to all sorts of mistakes - little ones like typos, or big ones like failing to close a plot gap, or to make a Chekov’s Gun payoff, or changes to a character’s appearance, or simply forgetting to write a whole chapter. I’ve done all of these things. It’s easier to miss than you’d expect, because youthink you’ve done the thing and when you re-read the story, you can easily see what you intended to put on the page, instead of what you really did put on it. Of course, putting a story away for awhile and coming back to it with fresh eyes is a great way to find errors and ensure the book you’re working on reads as intended, it’s still easy to miss things, or to assume something works when it doesn’t. After all, it’s nearly impossible to be fully objective about writing we ourselves put on the page. To this end, that second pair of eyes is a vital part of the process of turning a first draft into something professional and legible. Read the rest of the post here: http://jmfrey.net/2019/02/words-for-writers-beta-readers/ #WordsforWriters #protip #writingadvice #jmfrey #writingblog #blogpost #authorshelpingauthors #writblr #writeblr #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BtwM3c7n9bw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ohe8lx4t17tg
