Use a pre-story-submission checklist

Effectively editing your own writing is impossible. There, I said it.

But why? Why is it so dad-gummed difficult?? And where does the phrase “dad-gummed” come from, anyway???!

I don’t have any official answer for either, so I’ll give you my somewhat educated opinion, which you may take or leave. (About self-editing, not dad-gummed.)

It’s easy to become enamored with your own writing. By typing a keyboard with your fingers, you are creating a thought that, moments before, didn’t exist. But now … presto! A brand-new thought was just birthed into the world. So yes, at the risk of using a well-worn cliche, your writing becomes your new baby, and who is comfortable in critiquing their own squiggly, cooing baby? Certainly not me! (When they become teenagers, it’s a lot easier.)

It’s also difficult to catch typos in your own writing. My theory is, when you read your own copy, you know what’s coming — it isn’t new to you — so your brain fills in the missing words or changes “your” to “you’re” in your mind without signaling your hands to make that correction on the page. This is why it’s always a good idea to sleep on a story before editing it. When you come back to it, things won’t be quite as fresh and you will read the story more as another person might.

But whether you represent a self-editing freelancer or are a member of a large staff, consider using a pre-story-submission checklist before giving the printer the green light or sending your story around to be edited by others. In both environments, you will save yourself the time of making changes, you will spare your coworkers the agony of fixing your mistakes, and you will end up with a much better story for your readers.

Answer these questions:

• What kind of story is it? If it’s a straight news story, use the 5 Ws and get quickly to the point. If it’s a feature story, be a little more creative with the lead and use interesting transitions. Be clear on the goal and nature of your story before writing the first word, and then double-check to make sure the finished product jives with your intention before submitting it.
• Have I answered all of my own questions? Be sure that when you pose a question in your story, you answer it. Or, if you make a cryptic statement of some kind in the lead, you don’t leave the reader hanging. Explain yourself and answer your own questions.
• Am I making subjective comments as statements of fact? This is a biggie. If John loved the rodeo, be sure that John says this in a quote. This is journalism, not fiction, so we can’t have intimate knowledge, as the writer, of what John does and doesn’t love. He has to tell us himself. In another example, don’t say that the weather was “so nice” or “amazing” in your copy. Say the weather was “mild” or “temperatures were below average.” These are statements of fact. Let your story subjects make personal comments on the weather in quote form.
• Is every word necessary? “Rainfall during the month of August was below average all across the entire state of Nebraska.” A better choice might be, “Nebraska’s rainfall was below average in August.” There’s nothing wrong with being creative in your writing, but there’s definitely a problem with using unnecessary words. Strive to meet your word count as efficiently as possible. That equals more meat and less fat in your writing.
• Is this story actually interesting, and will anyone other than the subject give a hoot? A cardinal sin of feature writing is penning a story full of boring exposition, family names, ages, and backgrounds, and banal detail simply to satisfy a word count. But when you view it from 30K feet, it’s about as compelling as your monthly water bill. Look at the first draft as way to get the facts down on paper; the second draft should be about making that copy more directed toward an interesting angle.

Writing is hard and often thankless work, so I admire you for undertaking the job. But never be seduced by that sneaky devil on your shoulder who is assuring you that your first draft is a masterpiece. It’s not. It never is, no matter who you are. Ask yourself the hard questions and make that story better.