What is your editing process?

I really do need to be more diligent about editing my Fluther answers; I find way too many stupid errors after the editing window has closed. It takes me so damned long to crank out an answer that I’m usually just sick of it once I’ve finished and have no appetite for reworking it.

I do tend to put a lot of forethought into the text prior to committing it to paper/screen. I’m a lousy typist; I want to be pretty sure that all that hunting and pecking won’t be wasted, so I try to get it right in my head first. Most of the post-production editing I do involves inserting paragraph breaks where I see that I’ve birthed a massive wall of text.

As for what that mental, pre-typing editing process is like, I first get some feel for whom I’m addressing the words to. If it’s a Fluther answer, am I talking to a specific person, or is it more of a “to whom it may concern” type of response? If I’m answering one of your questions, @wundayatta , I’ll feel free to go into as much detail as I want because I know you’ll actually read it and will appreciate the effort. If it’s intended more for the collective at large, I try to pare it down to the essentials because jellies in general tend to read right past anything over a few lines.

Once I’ve got an idea of the listener(s) and what I think their prior knowledge or position might be, then I just set about trying to build a verbal bridge from that position over to mine. I have to first try to see things from their perspective before I can see how to lead them to my vantage point. I don’t expect anyone to abandon their perspective for mine, but if they’ve taken the trouble to ask for my perspective, than I’m willing to show them how to get there.

I actually work in a very similar way to you, except I’m not averse to a single clause sentence.

In formal writing, I generally edit as I type, and will often stop writing for a couple of minutes to read what I wrote back and think about where I go to next. I did my Master’s thesis in this way.

in casual writing, I do much the same thing.

I have a passion for expressing my thoughts as well as I can possibly express them. I drives everything I write. I never even think about “editing” as a separate process. It is just a continuing part of writing that enhances my own pleasure to express what is in my mind as clearly as I can express it. I am driven totally by that and not by a feeling of necessity to change a word or two. I am working with thoughts, not words.

I feel like you’ve asked this q before but it’s a good q, so whatever. I don’t like editing. Generally, the basic thing I write first is the thing that stays with very minor changes.

I’m sure according to some I make lots of mistakes, but I’m not a writer and never faired well in english class with all those verbs and participles, sentence structures, etc. My thoughts are usually very scattered thus making it difficult to even think of a well thought out question or answer. So I usually only edit my spelling if I can catch it.

Ahh…I would get the most critics since English isn’t my official language. I could sometimes struggle to materialize what I intended to say, apart from grammar/punctuation issue, composing the right words, etc.

I usually reread my question again, and again if necessary and try to change some sentences that I find isn’t compatible to the question.

I don’t edit my questions/answers in other sites as often as I do in fluther (I, however, state that I’m a foreigner and apologize for my mistakes in those sites for the first few times). I know that we sometimes make mistakes but I feel that sometimes fluther is a bit too strict to pull out a question just for some letters…

I get really zen when I write long pieces—I lose awareness of time and space and the same happens when I edit.

I always check my writing for clarity, tone, grammar and take out things that are redundant. I want people to read my writing, even if it’s a wall-o-text, so I use paragraphs for visual breaks. The really complicated sentence structures get edited, too.

There are two tones I edit the hell out of—the whiny tone and the mad tone. When I’m mad, I try to edit much more because I prefer my tone to stay controlled and if I feel down or sad, I delete the whole thing. One post on Fluther that made me angry took me about a hour to write/edit—I had to take a break, come back and take the barbs out.

Last, I also edit for audience… sometimes I can tell a person likes more details and complexity- I’ll give them that, then if I notice a person isn’t a great reader I’ll modify my structure/words for their comprehension

If I were writing a technical paper or a paper for school, I would be much more rigorous about grammar and such. For sites like my blogs, Facebook, Fluther, etc., I pretty much write like I talk, which is to say, I am usually aware that I’m using poor grammar or whatever, so what comes out is usually for the effect.

Beyond that, I re-read for flow, in addition to punctuation and spelling mistakes. During my re-reads, I often get inspired (like sudden thoughts will pop into my head) to add things or correct ways of saying things to make them better.

It’s all very organic and can’t be forced. I’ve had blog posts sitting in drafts for several days because I know they need editing, but am unable to see exactly what changes need to be made. Then, one day, I’ll be reading over it and—poof!—it all comes and I’m able to fix it.

I always edit, and re-read what I write from a 3rd party perspective, and sometimes just to make sure what I’ve written actually makes sense.

“Do you make a lot of mistakes? Do you edit because you don’t like the way you said things the first time? Are you overly fussy about your writing? Are you afraid you might embarrass yourself? Tell me about it.”

All of that is me >.>

I base my editing simply off reviews (I put my writing on WritersCafe.com) and whatever I think might work better. Some things I change the wording and for dialog, maybe add in an action to go along with it. Currently, I’m working on being more descriptive.
Also, I keep in mind the direction I want the story to be going to make sure everything I write relates to its plot.

In a forum like this, or facebook, and emails between friends I don’t like to bother to edit. However, using this ipad I try to force myself and go back and review a little because the typos are just ridiculous. On fluther we write in this rather small box, so when I am writing a long answer it is a real pain to go back and edit.

The thing is, the longer my answer, the more I feel I might need to go back and organize the sentences and paragraphs better, because my mind tends to be very loose, going from one though to the next, and so sometimes I think I need to edit to make it easier for the audience; to ensure I am communicating well.

Still, generally with people I know, I figure they let a poorly written sentence or typo slide, and I don’t fret about it too much.

Haphazard. I usually type while I’m looking somewhere else, talking to co workers, answering phones, etc. If I decided to check and edit then it’s a good gamble enough time has passed that I can’t any longer.

When I write, I often write without knowing where I’m going. What you see is the journey my brain took in writing that answer. Many times I find out what I think in writing through it. Since it is a journey, it might have lots of side routes and it won’t get where I’m going in a very linear way. I don’t expect people to have much tolerance for that, so I am usually pretty shocked when someone says it makes sense, or even more shockingly, that it seems well-organized. I guess if you write enough, a least a few things will seem well-organized.

I first typed this out in Word to catch any spelling errors or typos. Once I have written something I read through it to ensure it makes sense. My reading mind is better organised than my writing mind and I often have to make changes.

@wundayatta “Many times I find out what I think in writing through it.”

This. I do this. I feel this. I know exactly what you mean.

On more occasions than I could ever count, I’ve discovered (created?) my own opinions as I write.

Does that make us dialecticians?

My editing process. Write it. Look at it. Edit it. Pass it to other writers have them edit it. Look at it. Re-write. Have a second person look at it. Edit it. Look at it. Pass it to a third person. Usually by then, its solid. I could go through 8 people, to feel confident with it. Writers, always, look out for each other. The good ones anyhow.