SPEAKER_02: 0:00

The goal of line editing isn't simply to make the words and the sentences prettier for the sake of being pretty. It's to calibrate every word for maximum emotional impact on your reader. In order to do that, you must understand what the global story is doing. What is your story about? And you must understand what the scene that you're editing is doing. What changes in this scene? And why does it matter to the overall story? And from there, you can make micro, line level choices that make that change really clear. Everything. Where to use dialogue or add interiority or describe the setting, where to expand with more moment-by-moment detail and where to summarize, whether to say your character walks or strolls or paces or meanders, everything. Every single individual word choice is in service to that change.

SPEAKER_03: 0:52

Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo, and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started. In today's episode, we're diving into a topic we don't talk too much about on this show, and that is line editing. And this is a topic that has been requested over and over again, so I thought we would go ahead and tackle it today. So what exactly is line editing? Well, it's the process of refining your prose at the paragraph and sentence level. So looking at word choice, sentence structure, rhythm, flow, and making sure every single line serves your story. It is different from developmental editing, which focuses on the big picture elements like plot and character arcs, and it's different from copy editing, which is about spelling, grammar, and punctuation. So line editing sits right in the middle. It's about making your writing clear, engaging, and effective. So for this episode, I asked three book coaches, Karen Fisher, Julie Arts, and Alice Sudlow, to share their favorite line editing tips. And all three of these book coaches are in the trenches working with writers every single day, helping them polish their manuscripts until they shine. So all of these tips are born from direct experience these coaches have with writers. Plus, I'm going to be sharing two of my own favorite line editing strategies that have made a huge difference for the writers I work with as well. So whether you're getting ready to revise your first draft or you're on your tenth pass through your manuscript, these tips are going to help you approach line editing with more confidence and clarity. And the best part, every single tip comes with a practical exercise you can use right away. So let's dive right into five ways to make your line-by-line writing shine. And we're going to kick things off with a tip from Karen Fisher about using dynamic verbs. So here is Karen's tip.

SPEAKER_01: 3:00

Hi, thanks so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here. For those of you that don't know me, my name is Karen Fisher. I'm a certified book coach, a former literary agent, and a pre-published writer. And I own Story and Pros, Book Coaching, and Editorial Services. Today, for making your line level prose sparkle, my tip is to spruce up your verbs. Why does this matter? First off, think back to that age-old advice of show-don't tell. We've all heard it before. And I love looking at verbs for this one because not only do they give a picture of what your character is doing and how they're doing it, but I mean you think about the difference between trudged versus walked versus torpedoed. Each of those has such a distinctive feel to what your character could be doing. So that really helps with show don't tell. Also, as Constance Hale in her wonderful book Vex Hex Smash and Smooch says, verbs put action in scenes, show eccentricity in characters, and convey drama in plots. They give poetry its urgency, they make quotes memorable, and ads convincing. So verbs are really great, a great way to um sharpen your line level prose. So the first way of doing that is to think about verbs in terms of dynamic versus static verbs. Dynamic verbs, according to Constance Hale, I just love this analogy she uses, is dynamic verbs are like the whole grain bread. So they are the bread that tastes good on its own and that tastes even better when you put jams and spreads and pattes on it. Static verbs, on the other hand, are like white bread. They're kind of invisible. You don't really taste the bread itself. You're really tasting more of the actual product that you're spreading onto the bread, like the butter and the peanut butter and whatever else. So let me go into each of these in a little more detail. Static verbs, as I mentioned, are weaker, unexciting, nearly invisible, and they lack punch. So what are a couple examples? So the biggest one that you'll see in your writing all over the place is to be verbs. And these are linking verbs and they talk about existential things, and they're just very invisible. There's also wimp verbs like appear, seem, become, keep, prove, remain, stay, sensing verbs like feel, look, taste, smell, sound. These can be dynamic in some sentences, but more often than not, they're pretty static and they don't add any extra punch to your writing. Other things like can, could, do, might, may, must, have, need, ought to, shall, should, use to, would, will, am, are, is, was work. These are all those kinds of static verbs. You kind of want to avoid them if you can. Dynamic verbs, on the other hand, are thrilling, they're vivid, they're animating. They whistle your way, sidle up to you, and demand your action. They create action and vivid images, which is your goal as a writer. So one example I love to give is when you think about a firecracker, one of those little sparklers, think about what does the sparkler do? It crackles, it fizzes, it pops, it snaps, it glows, it sparkles, etc. Right? If you just read something that said, oh, the sparkler is glowing versus the sparkler crackled, which one kind of makes you lean in and picture what's actually happening? So always try to use dynamic verbs wherever you can. Um, I just I want to read a quick example for you of another way that you can hear dynamic verbs working. This is from a little picture book of poetry called Things to Do by Elaine Magliaro, and I'm gonna read a little poem for you. Things to do if you are rain, polka dot sidewalks, freckle window panes, whoosh down gutter spouts, gurgle into drains, patter around the porch in slippers of gray, tap dance on the roof, then go away. So do you hear how the difference of using those dynamic verbs can really elevate your writing and paint a picture? So try to do that. And one of the ways you can implement this tip is by printing out the first page of your manuscript and circling all of the verbs, especially to be verbs. They are the most bland and plain and they also lead to passive voice. So circle all your verbs and then work on changing all of the sentences and making those verbs as strong and dynamic as possible. If you do this, you'll create something that sings and paints a vivid picture in your readers' minds.

SPEAKER_03: 7:14

I love how Karen reminds us that verbs are the engines of our sentences because they really do drive the action forward and create that immediate visceral experience for readers. So thank you so much to Karen for sharing this tip about choosing dynamic verbs. And for everyone listening, we will link to where you can find and connect with Karen in the show notes. All right, now next up, I'm gonna share my favorite tip in terms of line editing, and that is all about following a hierarchy because trying to fix everything at once is a recipe for overwhelm. So if you haven't already heard episode number 73 on the four phases of editing, which is all about how to revise a novel from the big picture story level issues all the way down to the line-by-line sentence level issues, then I'm going to recommend that episode to you first. And that's because that episode will help you organize your edits if you haven't yet done a big picture edit of your overarching story and your scenes. But let's pretend that you've done that and that you are in fact ready to revise your novel at the line level. The first thing I want to say is that I see so many writers get stuck here because they're trying to make every sentence beautiful before making sure it's clear first. And what I mean by this is there's no point wordsmithing your sentences and paragraphs if it's not clear to the reader what's happening yet. So here's how I want you to think about this. First, I want you to address clarity issues, both emotional and physical. So I want you to ask yourself: can a reader follow what's physically happening in this scene? Do they know where everyone is standing? Can they track who's speaking? And also can they follow your character's emotional journey? So when your protagonist suddenly lashes out, does the reader understand why? When your character makes a choice that changes everything, have you shown readers that emotional journey that led to that moment? You can also think about it like this. If you showed any page of your story to someone who's never read your entire book, would they be able to picture the basic action and understand why your character feels the way they do? And this is important because if readers can't understand what's happening both externally and internally, then all the beautiful metaphors in the world isn't going to save your story. All right, and then the second thing I want you to do, once you're sure that what's happening and why it's happening is clear, then I want you to look at the flow. So this is where you'll check if your sentences are working together to create the right tone and the right pace. So are you slowing down enough in the important moments? And have you sped through any parts that might need a little more breathing room? Is there anywhere you need to condense or collapse time to kind of get to the point quicker? Okay, so we just want to look at the overall flow of each scene and each page. And then third, and only after you've handled clarity and flow, then you can polish your sentences and paragraphs. So this is where you can play with things like word choice, you can eliminate repetition, and yes, you can finally agonize over whether walked or strode is the better verb. Now, a little caveat when you get to this point when you're polishing up your sentences and your paragraphs, don't be afraid to break the rules in favor of letting your voice shine through. So, for example, maybe your teenage protagonist speaks in run-on sentences when they're nervous. Or maybe your hard-boiled detective uses fragments. No matter what it is, that is okay. And in my opinion, voice trumps perfection at the line level in most cases. Not always, and there is definitely a certain balance to aim for, but I do think voice is really important. The key is knowing when you're breaking a rule on purpose versus when you're just being unclear. Alright, so if you want to take action on this tip, what I want you to do is take one page of your manuscript and go through it in three separate passes. The first pass, I just want you to read for clarity. So can someone follow the basic action and emotion? And I want you to mark anything that might be confusing. In the second pass, I want you to read for flow. So does the pace and the tone match what's happening in the scene? Again, mark things up that might be confusing or that might throw off the pace or the tone. And then on your third pass, you can polish and play with words once you've addressed the clarity and the flow. All right, so that is my favorite tip. I really recommend following a hierarchy when you're working on your line editing. And I promise this will make revision so much more effective and way less overwhelming. Remember, you can't polish what isn't clear, so always start with clarity first. All right, now next up we're gonna hear a tip from Alice Sudlow, so let's just dive right into Alice's tip.

SPEAKER_02: 11:40

Hi, my name is Alice Sudlow, and I'm a developmental editor and book coach. I specialize in late stage refinement that walks the line between developmental and line editing. I help writers take big picture story clarity and turn it into line level edits that make every scene unput downable. Effective line edits start with a deep understanding of what your story is about in the big picture. The goal of line editing isn't simply to make the words and the sentences prettier for the sake of being pretty. It's to calibrate every word for maximum emotional impact on your reader. That is to say, it's to take what you mean for your book to do and make your book do that thing even more. In order to do that, you must understand what the global story is doing. What is your story about? And you must understand what the scene that you're editing is doing, what changes in this scene, and why does it matter to the overall story? And from there, you can make micro, line level choices that make that change really clear. Everything. Where to use dialogue or add interiority or describe the setting, where to expand with more moment-by-moment detail and where to summarize, whether to say your character walks or strolls or paces or meanders. Everything. Every single individual word choice is in service to that change. So, for instance, in the opening scene of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reed, we meet Monique, who is working a low-level job writing puff pieces at a magazine. Her story arc in the entire book is about what she's willing to do or not in order to rise in status at her job. In the opening scene, her boss, Frankie, offers her this amazing opportunity to write an exclusive feature with the famous actress Evelyn Hugo. This scene is about this giant opportunity which will make or break Monique's career, and whether she's got the guts to accept it. So, on the line level, every word of this scene emphasizes that meaning. Monique's low status, Monique's low confidence, and how those will start to rise by the end of the scene. Let's take a look at how that works. Here's one line from the beginning of the scene. I calmly sit and cross my legs. I let Frankie talk first. The adverb calmly. The actions of sitting and crossing her legs, the choice to let Frankie talk first. All of these emphasize Monique's demure submission to her boss. Here's another line from the end. After Monique has pushed Frankie to give her the feature, shock and searing pride run through me as I extend my own hand. I make sure my handshake is strong. Frankie's is a vice. Everything here emphasizes the start of Monique's rise, especially in her confidence. There are emotion words, shock and pride, that point us to Monique's new confidence and how surprised she is by it all. There's some energizing figurative language. It's fearing pride that runs through Monique. She doesn't just have a strong handshake, she makes sure she has a strong handshake. And yet Frankie is still stronger. Her handshake is advice. Every line level choice that Taylor Jenkins Reed makes throughout that entire scene emphasizes the meaning and purpose of this scene. That Monique begins in low status and confidence, but makes a choice to start to rise. Which brings me back to my tip for you. Every time you sit down to line edit your manuscript, ground yourself in what your story is about. What is your character's arc of change in the novel as a whole? How does the scene that you're editing right now contribute to that character arc? Why does the scene matter to your story? What change in the scene do you want to emphasize? And then use that big picture clarity as your guiding light to make every line level choice. Your words won't simply get prettier. They will become more meaningful, more potent and powerful to your readers, and carry the emotional resonance that your story is designed to create.

SPEAKER_03: 15:41

This is such important advice, and Alice is absolutely right that every line should serve a purpose, whether it's revealing character, advancing the plot, or deepening our understanding of the story world. So thank you to Alice for this reminder to ground our line edits in the bigger picture of what our story is trying to accomplish. As always, we will link to where you can find and connect with Alice in the show notes. Now I'm gonna share my other favorite tip, which has to do with creating rhythm through sentence variety. And this is one of my favorites because it can really impact and or change how your prose feels to readers. So what do I mean by this? Well, think about music for a second. What makes a song interesting or what makes a song stand out? It's not just about the notes, right? It's the rhythm and the way the beats create patterns and then break them. And your sentences work in the exact same way. If you have too many short sentences in a row, your prose feels choppy, like this. See? It's exhausting. It's robotic. Readers can't settle in. But if you only write in long flowing sentences that meander through multiple clauses and ideas, incorporating various thoughts and observations as they unfold across the page, your readers will feel like they're drowning in words and they'll lose track of what you're trying to say. Right? Big difference in those two examples. And the magic here happens when you mix things up. So short sentences can be used to create punch, they can grab attention, and they're perfect for action or for surprise, or for moments when your character's world tilts. And then you can follow with a longer sentence that lets the reader process what just happened and that gives them the space to breathe and settle back into the story. Now you might be thinking, is there some kind of formula for this? How do I know how many short sentences versus long sentences to use? And unfortunately, there is no formula. I can't tell you just to use three short sentences followed by two long ones. And the reason for that is because that would make your prose feel just as mechanical as having no variety at all. So instead, you need to let the emotion and the action of your scene guide the rhythm. Let's say your character is panicking, you can use short, choppy, and breathless sentences. Their thoughts are fragmented, so your sentences can be too. If you're writing a moment within a scene where the character is reflecting on a memory or having some kind of peaceful moment, that's when you can let your sentences unspool and you can allow readers to sink into that slower, more contemplative pace. All right, so always think about the action and emotion of your scene and then use that as a barometer for the length of your sentences in any given moment. Also, you can keep an eye out for how you're opening each sentence as well. So you don't want to start every sentence with a character's name or with dialogue or with action. Instead, you want to mix it up so that every sentence feels fresh and purposeful for the reader. Now, if you want to take action on this tip, here is your exercise, and it's kind of a simple one. Read your work out loud. And I really mean read it out loud, don't just read it in your head. And that's because your ear will catch rhythm problems that your eye misses. When you stumble, when you run out of breath, when all the sentences start blurring together, that's where you need variety. So when you're editing, mark those spots and then experiment with the length of your sentences. You could turn two short sentences into one longer one, you could break that mammoth sentence into smaller pieces. You know, just play with it until it sounds right. And remember that varying your sentence structure isn't about following rules. It's about creating an experience for your reader. So it's about making them feel what your character feels through the very rhythm of your words. And if you master this, your prose will come alive and you'll be so proud of what you've written. All right, now next up we're gonna hear from Julie Arts. So let's just go ahead and dive right into Julie's clip.

SPEAKER_00: 19:28

Hello, my name is Julie Arts, and I'm an author, editor, and book coach who helps writers like you slay their doubt demons and get their manuscripts reader ready. One of the steps that you need to take before sending your manuscript out into the world is doing a thorough line edit. That's why I'm here today to talk with you about five tips for making your line editing shine. Number one, my best tip for line editing is to read your entire manuscript out loud. You heard me. I know it's hard, it takes a long time. I really highly recommend doing it from a treadmill desk if you have access and making sure that you have a big bottle of water, because you will lose your voice when you do this step. But there's no better way to find repeated words, extra dialogue tags, and clunky phrasing than to sit down and read your manuscript out loud. Tip number two, know your junk words. Whether they're filters like she heard, she saw, she felt, or conjunctions like and, but, that, or so, or any words that you know you use too often, now is the time to sit down with find and replace and identify them. And the great thing about using find and replace is they'll tell you exactly how many times you've used a word. So if you type but into find and replace and you find that you've used it 852 times, that's a pretty good indication that you need to go through and do some line level editing to reduce the usage of that word. Another thing that writers are often worried about is how to reduce overall word count, but without cutting all those scenes that you know from doing your developmental editing on structural work need to be in your story. Well, one of the things that I recommend to writers who are hoping to cut maybe 10% from their word count is to look at the opening and closing of your scenes. Most people write their way into scenes a little bit and write their way out of scenes a little bit with some extra padding that when you cut it can reduce your total word count, but without losing a single necessary scene. My fourth tip is to liven up your verbs. It can seem necessary to put in a bunch of adjectives to be really descriptive because editors are telling you all the time, be specific, right? So I'm here to tell you that adjectives are not the best way to do that. Instead, using vivid verbs can really, really help bring your prose alive, but without adding a bunch of purple adjectives. And finally, my fifth tip for making your line editing shine is actually to create a style sheet. And this is something that your copy editor and proofreader will thank you for when the time comes for those final two steps in the process. A style sheet is just a document that has the accurate spelling and description of things like locations, names of your characters, and especially any fantasy or world-building elements that are part of your story. I actually start doing that at the very beginning of my drafting process because there's nothing worse than getting halfway through a manuscript and realizing that you have spelled a character's name four different ways throughout the manuscript. That can lead to a line editing nightmare, and we want to avoid that. So just create a style sheet that can either be a separate word document or I use an extra file in my scrivener doc to track those names and spellings. And then when the time comes, you can use them to double check your manuscript and make sure that you've gotten everything as consistent as it can be. I hope you found these tips for making your line editing shine helpful. Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_03: 23:24

Julie has given us such a comprehensive toolkit here, and I especially love the advice about reading your work out loud because your ear really will catch things that your eyes miss every single time. So thank you to Julie for sharing these five really practical tips and techniques that writers can start using immediately. If you're listening and you want to connect with Julie, we will include her links in the show notes as well. All right, so whether you're getting ready to revise your first draft or if you're on what you hope is your last pass through your manuscript, I hope these tips will help you approach your line editing with more confidence and clarity. And a big thank you to Karen, to Alice, and to Julie for sharing their wisdom with us in today's episode. As always, we will link to where you can find them around the internet in the show notes. Alright, so that's it for this episode of the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast. Head over to savannagilbo.com forward slash podcast for the complete show notes, including the resources I mentioned today, as well as bonus materials to help you implement what you've learned. And if you're ready to get more personalized guidance for your specific writing stage, whether you're just starting out, stuck somewhere in the middle of a draft, drowning in revisions, or getting ready to publish, take my free 30-second quiz at savanagilbo.com forward slash quiz. You'll get a customized podcast playlist that'll meet you right where you're at and help you get to your next big milestone. Last but not least, make sure to follow this podcast in your podcast player of choice because I'll be back next week with another episode full of actionable tips, tools, and strategies to help you become a better writer. Until then, happy writing.