ABSTRACT
Hands-on activities will help us to develop and practise a range of editing skills, from rethinking scenes and characters to cutting surplus material, and checking grammar and punctuation. Both writers emphasise the time involved in editing. A cooling-off period allows us to view our work more clearly; we need time to ‘reacquaint ourselves’ with what we have written before making major revisions and attending to points of detail. A second guiding principle concerns the aim of our writing. The energising part of writing is by no means over after the first draft: emotional investment retains a role in the editing process too. Dialogue has three main functions: it is a means of characterisation; it advances the plot; and it indicates relationships. Punctuation makes an essential contribution to the clarity of our fiction. Writing is also about making discoveries in words, stretching boundaries, and experimentation.
