This week’s blog showcases Valerie Fuqua (sounds like Few-kway), an indie author/artist who’s worked as a freelance developmental editor for over ten years. Valerie is deeply immersed in several author communities devoted to helping fellow writers improve their work. Here she shares her list of what to keep in mind when editing your own work.

I know no one ever really goes into what to do when you’re editing your own work so as a new person to the game, it can be really hard to know what you’re looking for. I’m sure most of us indie authors start off just thinking “Did I spell this right?” or “Am I missing any commas?” I’m sure even those of us who have been doing this a while have found it frustrating to keep finding out things they didn’t know to look for.

Well, I thought I’d help out a bit. After spending years hanging out in writing forums, discussing writing with other writers, giving constructive criticism to others and reading what other writers gave, getting some on my own works, I’ve learned a lot. Learned even more as a developmental editor for over a decade. From this experience I’ve come up with a partial list of things to keep in mind while editing. I hope this helps some people out.

Questions to bear in mind 

For best results, choose one aspect to focus on during each editing pass.

• Do my scenes, chapters or stories start with a hook? Something interesting to grab attention?

• Do my scenes/chapters end with something more the reader wants to know and has to continue on to find out?

• Do my scenes/chapters/stories wander off topic at any point and have to be wrangled back to the point at hand? If so, how can I rewrite this part so that it stays on topic? (Seriously, some people get pretty carried away with a gag or a description and lose sight of their point. Makes the story boring.)

• If I pick a random line of dialogue, can I tell who is speaking by how they speak? Or do my characters sound too much the same?

• When I describe something—from character to setting, to appearance of props—do the descriptions have any bearing on what’s happening right now? Would the story or scene change if I took that description out? If not, is there another place in the story where it’s more relevant to the story, or does it even belong in my story?

• When I have a new setting or character, do I at any point mention sight, hearing, taste, touch or smell of that place or character? If not, are there appropriate senses to include in any instance where that person or place is mentioned, visited or present?

• If I have descriptions in my story that I feel are needed, but there’s no relevance to my story, how can I make it relevant? Is there a thought or feeling that reveals more about my characters and who they are that can make it relevant?

• When I move onto a new thought, do I also move onto a new paragraph? When I move onto a new thought, do I have adequate transitions that connect the previous paragraph/scene? Or does my next thought sometimes seem to just kinda come out of nowhere?

• Do I use any literary devices to create additional flair to my writing? Similes, metaphors, hyperbole, etc.?

• How often do I use the same words? Especially nouns and verbs, but also adjectives or adverbs. Do I keep saying ‘ran’ over and over again, instead of charged or dashed?

• When I use a verb or adjective, even an adverb, do I use just common and generic ones like said, ran or pretty? Are there some places where I can use a more colorful word? Turn blue into azure or got into grabbed or snatched?

• With the sentences I’ve written, how many things am I talking about in that sentence? Imagine every noun is in a spotlight in that sentence. Do I have one noun doing a solo? Or do I have a crowd of nouns all fighting for attention? Might it be better to break up my sentence into multiple sentences so it isn’t so overloaded or run-on?

• Is the point of my story clear and focused, or do I have a lot of ideas in here and not much clarity on a specific main topic? You can check this by trying to describe the book in a sentence or two. The more crowded my description, the less focused my story may be.

• Mysteries and vivid imagery can make a story great, but only if we can follow your meaning. Are there more ways to take what is written here? Severe pain everywhere can be described as ‘my body lit on fire’ but it can also be taken as spontaneous combustion. How clear is this? Is there another way to say this or more info needed so my reader knows what I mean here?

About the artist/author

Valerie Fuqua was born on the autistic spectrum and has always experienced the world differently from neurotypical people. She found that her inner nature did not work in the present world and tried for a long time to change and fit in with others. But this did not work. Finally she realized that everything she thought she knew needed to be re-evaluated and that instead of trying to be like everyone else, she had to learn how she could adapt her inner nature to this world.

Valerie’s inner nature is creative, ambitious and focused on beauty and discovery. Her creations, from paintings through hats to necklaces, are based on whatever she imagines. As an artist she does her best to share her experiences with others, hoping to be able to lighten a plain and boring world with her art and bring beauty and understanding to people’s lives.

Talking about her paintings Valerie says, “Have you ever finished a project and found you have leftover paint? I do. All the time! But I don’t just chuck it. When I’ve got a lot left over, I do indistinct backgrounds, like this one. I had blue, purple and pink leftover, added a little white for lightness and voila! I was inspired to create my favorite tree painting ever!” She adds, “Not everything has to be begun with a specific plan! Sometimes it’s nice just to throw some paint on canvas and see if it turns into something!”

As an author, Valerie is a prolific creater of short stories, many of which are published in anthologies and in her own ebooks.

Her short story My Queen recently appeared in Galaxy # 18: An Inner Circle Writers’ Group Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology (Clarendon House Publications, paperback – 25 Sept 2024). Valerie says, “This story is based on a super creepy dream I had a couple years ago. It deeply disturbed me and refused to go away until I wrote it down and got it out of my head! I swear, this thing looked perfect for a sci-fi alien invasion movie.”

Her most recent short story, The Leopard Goddess has just been published in the Fourth Anniversary edition of the Journeys Anthology (November 2024).▼

Learn more

In case you want to ask Valerie questions about her tips on self-editing, or chat about any other aspect of writing, follow Valerie Fuqua, Author on Facebook. Her door’s always open!

• Galaxy #18 is available on Amazon 
• Journeys IV: Magic and Mystery is available on Amazon
• eBooks by Valerie Fuqua are available on her page at Barnes & Noble▼