50k+ words
By Jesse Morgan
earlier this week I crossed the 50k line on Ziggy’s second book. As I ramp down on this and switch back to editing the first book, I’ve been thinking about the different categories of editing. There are several different groupings- Technical, Stylistic, etc… I’m sure there’s an official english language checklist somewhere, but until I find it, I’m gonna try and write them up.
Why? Because when it comes time for other people to edit my books, it would be nice if they kept these changes in mind and maybe color coded them so I’d be able to tell what is what.
Technical
- Spelling/Punctuation
- Sentence Structure
- Paragraph Structure
- Chapter Structure
- Book Structure
Fact Checking
- Consistent character naming
- Consistent timelines
- Consistent Distances
- Consistent motivations
- Consistent aging
Naming
- Map up to date
- Location names consistent with races/area
- Locations named
- Characters named
- ALL names pronounceable
Personalities
- Consistent character naming
- Consistent motivations
- Consistent aging
Perspective
- Maintain 1st person
- Clue reader in on Ziggy’s perspective, other party perspective, and reality
- Validate stretches of logic
- Explain moral choices
Let me know if I’m missing a group or need to flesh something out.