by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

Beth the editor is in control of this blog post. 

Did you know some of my writer-friends refer to me as “The Evil Editor” or TEE for short? 

Bwahahahaha!

That evil laugh is just for fun. I’m also an author, so I understand both the writing and editing facets of our lives. Today my goal is to share a few tips to improve your manuscript as you work through rewrites. These are some key steps I follow as I work through my manuscript to polish it:

1. Delete the phrase “started to.” 

Example: She started to shake her head. Don’t waste time getting started unless there’s a strong reason to do so. 

Correction: She shook her head.

2. Avoid the word “it.” Don’t be vague. Writing is best when it’s specific.

Example: Ginny held the bunny pressed close to her to her heart. It was warm and soft. 

Correction: Ginny held the bunny pressed close to her heart, patting the soft, warm fur. 

3. Avoid the words feel and felt. These words indicate you are naming an emotion. 

Example: Georgia felt embarrassed.

Correction: Georgia blinked back the sting of tears as she swallowed the bitter taste rising in the back of her throat. 

4. A Tip About Smiles and Frowns: Your Point of View (POV) Character can’t see herself smile or frown. However, she can feel herself smile or frown, so if your POV character smiles or frowns – and be careful about how often they do! – have their lips curve or twist so they feel the motion. 

5. Double Check your timeline. I like to use the Aeon timeline app to coordinate my days, weeks, and months, but you also can print up a blank calendar to track the passage of time in your story. 

6. Other things to look for:

Delete the word that. This is often an unneeded filler word. 

Avoid literally, really, finally, suddenly, actually, and frankly – although “frankly” worked for Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind, so there’s always an exception to every rule, right?

Search out and delete repeated words. Most writers end up with a favorite word or phrase in every manuscript. What’s yours? Use the search tool to hunt it down and erase it. 

 

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Dedicated to the One I Love

Beloved romance novelist Kylie Franklin walked away from her pen-name career as bestselling and award-winning Veronica Hollins the day her husband died. Her loyal readers are eager for the final book in her sensational series. But Kylie’s given up on love, both fictional and in real life. Behind her back, Kylie’s agent contrives a way to get her writing again.

Joe Edwards has made a name for himself with his popular military suspense novels under the pen name Tate Merrick. Yet he can’t quite break onto the bestseller list. What his books need, his publisher suggests, is some romance. Joe flat refuses. However, his publisher is determined and hires Veronica Hollins to save the day—and his career.

Veronica and Tate quickly realize they’re Kylie and Joe, good friends who connected online via a popular word game and their mutual love of trivia. Surely they can wrangle their alter egos into this literary collaboration. But as the deadline looms, their differences threaten the romance developing off the page.

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, releases June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.