You’d think by the number of times I’ve mentioned “cuts” and “reductions” in my blogposts that eliminating words is the gist of editing. It’s a big part of the process, sure, but editing can also be about adding words. Or replacing them, and rearranging them.
One of the important tasks of editing is to make sure that you’ve managed to say what it is you’re thinking. When you reread your first draft, that’s the time to scan for and fill in any conceptual gaps in your narration. Go back over passages that sound a little muddy to your mind’s-ear and pour some cold, clean, mental clarity over those sentences.
After all, the point of writing is to get down on “paper” what’s in your head. If you think you can get 100% of that — and get it right — all in one go, you’re probably being too kind to your ego. Once it’s written, if you don’t tell yourself “oh, it’s done now,” you should be able to see where it’s not quite accurate yet, not clear or cohesive, or could simply be better.
Once you’re sure you understand what you mean, reread your work from your audience’s perspective. Your readers’ vantage will likely be different than yours, because they can’t see what else you’ve got in your mind for making special connections, unless you tell them — you’ll have to remember to ask yourself how much additional information you’re assuming readers might already have jumbling about in their heads, and how it’s colored by their own frames of reference. Should you give everyone the benefit of the doubt? Is it common knowledge you’ve left out? Or will you be showing foresight by providing specifics?
Unless you’re always empathetic to others’ thoughts and feelings, it can be tricky to guarantee that you will express your thoughts in ways others understand; however, there are methods for increasing odds of universal comprehension.
These literary devices involve:
Logical Coherence—of grammar, order, relationships of words, parallel construction, transitions, etc.
Unifying Subjects and Elements—of topic, tone, style, point of view, scene, tense, etc.
Putting Stress on Accuracy—of emphasis, diction, word order, humor, position (of importance, especially useful in lines of poetry), etc.
These are big subjects that bear in-depth research and study, but even just being aware that you should attend to these three principles of writing will propel you farther than the writer who remains unaware of the need to revisit his work to apply such precepts.