[SKRIVA] Efterbearbetning av manus

(En artikel jag fann om efterberabetning av texter, eller "self-editing". I 
mitt klipp/klistra ser radbrytningarna konstiga ut; hur det blir hos er vet jag 
inte. -_AE)

SELF EDITING TECHNIQUES FOR THE WRITER

"Cut and tighten" I instruct my high school creative
writing students. They did, excising the good with the dross.
Now I offer the class this assignment for revising their original
short stories, articles, and, to an extent, poetry and plays.
This has resulted in manuscripts that sparkle with creativity and
provide delightful reading.
Do the following, one step at a time. Check the box upon
completion.
1. CIRCLE EVERY MOTION WORD. Just as action catches the
eye of the television viewer, so it does in the print media.
"The Corvette went out of control and ran into a brick wall."
2. EXAMINE EACH MOTION WORD. Can you make it more
specific without its sounding stilted? "The Corvette spun out of
control and slammed into a brick wall."
3. USE COLOR. Include at least three specific colors
per page: a blue sedan; a yellow hair ribbon; a red sweater.
4. USE WORDS OF SIZE AND SHAPE. Compare the known with
the unknown: a fiddler crab the size of your thumbnail; a horse's
head the shape of an ironing board; a sting ray large as a VW
wheel. Include one or two per page.
5. APPEAL TO AT LEAST THREE SENSES. Besides sight, your
reader has four more: sound, taste, touch, smell. Use specific
nouns that suggest the sensuous: a velvet dress (soft, therefore,
touch); murmur of distant voices (sound); the spice of pine after
an autumn rain (smell).
6. NAME SPECIFIC OBJECTS IN THE SETTING. Characters
must inhabit time and space. "Jack eyed the wall clock. In two
minutes the bell would dash all hopes of ever finishing this
exam!"
7. USE BODY LANGUAGE AND STAGE BUSINESS. Do your
characters use facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms: Do they
interact with objects in the setting? "Marcie fingered a button
at the collar of her shirt, and lip pursed, glanced at the
offending book lying in plain view on the coffee table."
8. ZAP EVERY NEEDLESS "IS, AM, ARE, WAS, WERE, BE,
BEING, BEEN. Replace with action verbs. The sentence "The night
(was) cold and wet in the tall marshes," becomes "The night
slipped cold and wet over the tall marshes."
9. SEARCH AND DESTROY PASSIVE VOICE VERBS. Replace with
active. "The story was written by Carla" becomes "Carla wrote
the story."
10. CHECK AND CORRECT VERB TENSE. Have you accidentlly
changed from, say, past to present? "The street lamp glimmered
in the darkness. I now stood in the pool of light and peered
into the blackness beyond."
11. FIND ADVERBS. Terminate, if possible. Find a
better action verb instead. Then challenge each adjective. Is
it the best possible one -- or would a more descriptive noun
eliminate the need for the adjective?
12. CUT. Use this technique: Count or approximate the
total number of words. Multiply by ten percent. Cut that many
words from your manuscript, but maintain the same meaning.
Though the number is arbitrary and the task tedious, do it!
13. HIGHLIGHT WORDS USED MORE THAN TWICE PER PAGE. Find
synonyms for the third and fourth appearances.
14. CORRECT SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR ERRORS.
However a mundane task for you, your manuscript cannot leave home
without it. Such errors will insure its immediate return.
15. RETYPE. And hurry. Now give yourself a treat!

-- 
Scheduled with Time Cave (http://www.timecave.com)

Subscribe for $12/year to eliminate these short "message tags" and the
2-message-per-day limit.  You can subscribe at the following URL:

        http://www.timecave.com/subscribe

-----
SKRIVA - sf, fantasy och skräck  *  Äldsta svenska skrivarlistan
grundad 1997 * Info http://www.skriva.bravewriting.com eller skriva- 
request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx för listkommandon (ex subject: subscribe).

Other related posts: