Why...

Since this a thread about hints can somebody please tell why
some folks' can write manuscripts, then identify and correct their own errors, while another person is blind to self-made miscues???? And I know I can't be the only writer with this problem, because top-level publishing houses have a team of twenty people working on one book. What say U???

Jabber, I don't think writers are good at editing their own work. After all, writing coaches urge writers to stay in writing mode, and not go back and edit their work during the creative process.

The process of mentally switching to editing mode disrupts the creative process. If a writer starts editing during the writing process they're no longer CREATING.

As you say, publishing houses, even newspapers, have fact checkers and editors -- separate people from the authors -- and they wouldn't do that if there wasn't a good reason for it.

All of us, as writers, review our work periodically and make the corrections we see.

But it takes a different part of the brain to edit than it takes to write. So while a writer might see and correct a few errors in their own work, it really takes "fresh eyes" to see everything.

Thank you. I've been looking at yonuh's blogs, etc. and she seems to be able to write without the same baggage I'm experiencing. The stuff I'm writing however is coming from the very core of my being and deeply traumatic upset. So perhaps I'm being too hard on myself. Don't know. Just wish I was better at the writing process than I am.

I can wholeheartedly agree with what Anne says about the creative process. And it took doing NaNo to bring that home for me. I don't edit while I'm writing any more, because it does interrupt the flow.

Editing your own stuff is hard, but there are a couple of tricks I've learned along the way. The first one is time consuming, but read your work backwards, one word at a time. When you're reading front to back, you see what you expect to be there, whether it is or not. This method is great for spelling. Another trick is to read out loud, pause at every comma and see if it interrupts the flow of the work; if it does, then take it out. Reading out loud also lets you see how the work flows and will highlight awkward or choppy sentences.

I hope these tips will help, jabber.

Thanks! I'll try them,yonuh!