Polishing a writing project is an opportunity to make the finest work shine. This isn’t a process to overlook or skim, but a conscientious effort to ensure every word, paragraph, and page is expertly crafted.

When we believe a manuscript is complete, let the writing project sit for at least two weeks. If the work can rest longer, do so. This waiting time allows the writer to then view it through fresh eyes and edit more effectively. Now we’re ready to shine it up.

Work through the following polishing tips:

Active Voice

Strive to make sentences active. Remember “as” and “ing” words tend to make a sentence

passive.

Adverbs

Use sparingly and not with dialogue tags.

Do a global search in your manuscript for:

• “ly” with a space after it.
• “ly” with a period after it.

Avoid Clichés

Create your own metaphors and similes.

Beginnings

Strong hook.

Does your story begin with the lead character’s name and his/her current situation?

Chapter and Scene Hooks

Does every chapter and scene begin and end with a hook?

Characterization

Hero, heroine, or protagonist:

What is it about them that you like or dislike?

Is there a positive and negative trait that is not yours?

If you were to spend a vacation with the hero or heroine, what about them would appeal to

you?

Villain or antagonist:

Is the character truly evil or badly behaved?

What is the one trait that gives the antagonist redeeming quality?

Sol Stein states that no villain can attract victims unless he has charm, charisma, position, or

wealth.

Chronology

Use a calendar to keep track of your chapters’ timeline. http://calendarhome.com/tyc/#calendars

Conflict and Tension

              Include in every sentence.

Consistency

Spelling Numbers - written or spelled out

Cut Extra Words

Be clear and concise.

Dialogue

Clear and tight.

Punctuated correctly.

Do you need a tag?

Do you need a beat?

Emotional Conflict

Have you made it your goal to have emotional conflict in every paragraph?

Every line?

Show emotions.

Examine Plot

Have you asked the four crucial questions about every chapter?

1. What is the POV character’s goal or problem to solve?

2. What does the POV character learn that is new information?

3. What backstory is revealed?

4. How are the stakes raised?

Genre

Have you written with a clear genre in mind?

How do you want the story to “feel” to the reader (creepy, brooding, inspirational, etc.)?

Grammar

Invest in a grammar guide or English book.

Eliminate dangling participles.

Hyphen, En-Dash, and Em-Dash

Learn the differences, application, and correctly type the proper punctuation.

Consult publisher guidelines or The Chicago Manual of Style.

Plot

Is it tight?

Are there no holes?

Loose threads?

Pronoun Preference

Make sure the reader knows which noun the pronoun stands for.

Redundancy

Avoid repeated phrases.

Don’t insult the reader by telling more than once.

Click to get the PDF of these Polishing Tips by subscribing to DiAnn Mills’s newsletter.

Scenes

Rate every scene in your book. Each one should propel the story forward, constantly

building conflict and tension.

Make sure the first and last lines in each scene are strong.

Smooth transitions.

Sensory Perception

Does each scene use all the senses?

Sentence Order

Count the number of syllables: beans, cabbage, and tomatoes instead of huckleberries,

pear, and a banana.

Count the number of words. He enjoyed green beans, deep-fried onion rings, and buttered

corn on the cob.

If all the items have the same number of syllables, then consider their position in the alphabet.

An exception to this is chronological order, obvious sequence, familiar sequence, and

unintended modifiers.

Sometimes the way we are accustomed to hearing items in a list contradicts the above

guidelines. If the items in your list do not sound appropriate when you adhere to the above

rule, change them so they are acceptable.

Tea with lunch, dinner, and breakfast should be tea with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Cream and peaches should be peaches and cream.

The bees and the birds (alphabetical sequence) should be the birds and the bees.

Gold, myrrh, and frankincense should be gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Setting

Research more than you think you will ever use.

Fictitious towns are best.

Map out your town ahead of time, filling in street names, residential, business, etc.

Telling Words

Think

Know

Understand

Realize

Believe

Want

Remember

Imagine

Desire

Need

Text to Voice Software

Research software for what works best for you.

Scrivener has text to voice.

GhostReader is a text to voice app.

Vary Sentence Length

Do the sentences have rhythm?

Weasel Words and Phrases

Absolutely

Actually

All of

All right

As a matter of fact

As being

As yet

At all times

Basically, essentially

Beginning sentences with “There” or “It”

Being that

Cell phone cliches: pull out, scroll across, hang up

Completely

Definitely

During the course of

Each and every

Extremely

For all intents and purposes

For the most part

I mean

In order

In the process of

Just

Literally

Okay

Of course

Point in time

Pretty

Quite

Rather

Really

Shrugged

Simply

Smiled

So

Some

Somebody

Somehow

Someone

Something

Sometimes

Somewhat

Somewhere

Suddenly

That

Then

Thing

Totally

Up, down

Very

Which

Word Choice

William Shakespeare said: “Suit the action to the word, the word to the action.”

Word Frequency Finder and Phrase Frequency Finder.

http://www.writewords.org.uk/word_count.asp 

Unintended Modifiers

Make sure all modifiers modify what is intended.

Online Resources:

Calendar

Grammarly

Scrivener

ProWritingAid

The Chicago Manual of Style

Word and Phrase Frequency Counter

Final notes: print the writing project and read line by line. Send to a beta reader(s). This isn’t the writer’s mother, sister, or close friend but a person who can give honest feedback. Read the project one last time before sending it to an agent or editor.

Now relax. Tomorrow you can begin the next masterpiece.