Editing

Editing has the best cost benefit ratio of any aspect of writing.  Ten minutes spent editing is worth an hour spent writing.  Most students are  both delinquent and deficient when it comes to  editing.

Psychologists speak of right brain and left brain.  I prefer the terms write brain and edit brain.  All   you need to remember is that when you are   writing you are in the sound mode and when  you are editing you are in the symbol mode.

No matter how smart you are, you will find it  virtually impossible to be in both modes at the same time.  The rule is that when you have been writing for awhile and you begin to run out of steam, take a break before you edit.  This gives your brain a chance to change gears.

Do not go directly from writing to editing. That being said, the most useful tool for editing hard copy is a ruler.  If you wish to edit on screen fashion a cardboard ruler that you can slide down the screen.

Why use a ruler?  The ruler  prevents you from lapsing back into the writing mode when you are attempting to edit. When you get to the end of a line hesitate for a moment.  This will help ensure that you stay in the symbol mode and refrain from stumbling back into the sound mode.

Software engineers read code as fluently as most of us read text.  In order to stay in the symbol mode, code is read from beginning to end and then as a final check is read from end to beginning.

There are techniques for unblocking writer's block.  Unblocking

Writer's block is a far from uncommon phenomena in the writing world.  There is even a magazine called Writer's Block.  Writers Block .  Their website contains a plethora of writing tips.

Writing Tips

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