5 Worst Editing Mistakes (Writing Advice)

Learn how to avoid and overcome the worst editing mistakes that writers make.

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[mattsager]

Best 1st Draft advice I've ever heard: DON'T GET IT RIGHT, GET IT WRITTEN. I have it bold and at the top of every new doc

[WeirdVideoGames]

Biggest editing mistake I'd made was... well it was more of an embarrassment than anything. I was supposed to submit a few pages to my writing class so everyone could critique it and I spent a good chunk of time the week before polishing it up. Then I accidentally sent everyone the OLD DRAFT.

[lewiscrow]

The worst editing mistake I made was deleting an entire story arc--twice! I realized in hindsight I should've kept it and built on it rather than starting over in search of a "better" idea. It was much more difficult to recreate the storyline than it would've been to just workshop it into something better.

[SinclairPoppins]

The Butterfly Effect is something that has made me quit writing several times through the years. It’s really refreshing to hear it described cogently like this. I actually feel less alienated just hearing another writer talk about it.

[FabiolaMo]

Biggest mistake ? Not saving on a seperate document all of your cuts ! This might be very helpful for another story, or if your editor is asking for more details, or if you plan a series. I always do it now. Thanks for the video!

[bobstanley]

It's cool how much writing a dissertation overlaps with creative novel writing. My chair told me that "a good dissertation is finished. A great one is published, and the best one doesn't exist."

[LordBaktor]

The solution to point #3 reminds me of how I write scripts for the Roleplay Campaign I run for my friends. I'll decide where I want them to get to at the end of the current adventure and go backwards inserting obstacles and clues until I trace my way back to where they are at the start. I believe it makes it feel more like a natural progression of events and it helps me better gauge if I'm ramping the intensity up or down. It also makes it much easier to drop clues into the narrative if you know what you are building towards.

[YountFilm]

Editing mistake a friend of mine made: not keeping the previous draft. He revised his opening/prologue about 3 times, and as I read all drafts, the first was the best...

[TheManBehindtheScreen]

The timing of this video is fantastic. I just finished the full draft of my second novella and am about to begin the revision and editing process in full today. Having this as a reminder of what to watch and aim for is great.

[WriterBrandonMcNulty]

What's the WORST editing mistake you've made? Let us know!

[ShinGallon]

Editing the story is even worse when you're not just writing but also *drawing* the story. The problem is if I tried to write the whole thing out before I started drawing it, I'd never draw it. Learned that lesson after wasting years tweaking the script for a comic and then finally losing interest before I ever drew a single panel. So my graphic novel has been largely "basic story is written and dialog/details are done as I go", which has kept the process fresh and kept me motivated for the last 3 years I've worked on it. Granted I never intended it to be this long, it was gonna be a 5-10 page short that snowballed and I'm working on page 169 right now. It's led to a few minor things I'll have to edit story-wise but better a flawed comic than NO comic.
One thing I am definitely doing is limiting myself to one revision/edit/tweak pass of the art/writing in my graphic novel. If I don't force myself to stop after one pass I'll just get into an endless loop of correcting/tweaking the art and never get to the sequels I have planned.
I do, however, need to add a few things: not a new scene but a few pages expanding an existing scene so it makes more sense, otherwise a few of the side characters just drop out of the story with no resolution (not the main characters, obviously, but some friends of theirs). So I'm not adding fluff, I'm reenforcing the narrative.
I'm almost at the end of this book, though, maybe another 20 or 25 pages, and I've never been more artistically satisfied with myself than I am right now.

[Gavinwad]

This is by far my favorite writing advice channel

[unintendedmango]

I actually have the opposite problem in my drafts: instead of being long and rambling, my first drafts are too short and underdeveloped. Occasionally, I do have to cut things, but I find myself having to add far more than subtract, especially after my editors have given me their lists of things that don’t make sense.

Maybe it’s related to my aphantasia making it hard for me to describe things? I’m curious if anyone else experiences this.

[bwanamatata]

Great video, as usual.
"Read through and find out where you are bored", awesome advice that made me chuckle.
For years I was in a successful writing group where the same reaction plagued me. My submissions, that felt flat and uninspired, met with smiling words of praise. Yet, the stuff I was proud of met stoic walls of apathetic confusion.
So, when I start the edit process this go around, I'll modify the advice to: "Not board - scrap heap; if board - you might just have a pine derby to plane into a winner"

[alrikvas]

Biggest editing mistake: starting editing before finishing the draft.

[diegooland]

Biggest editing mistake? Polishing before I was at the polishing step. "Wow, Diego that really sparkles, Random House will be calling any day now." A month later, "Well, that bit is nice but now it's in the recycle bin because it no longer fits." As a first time author that is writing for enjoyment, I remind myself probably no one outside my family will ever read my work. Sure I secretly wish Ron Howard will call and want to turn my story into a movie. But the reality is, I'll be lucky if my brother reads the thing.

[lexietalionis]

My worst editing mistake: anything I missed that is now out there in my books.

[personunknown]

I just wanted to say I've been a lurker but I just love your content. You give us what an entire expensive tutorial can't give. Not only are you a gifted writer but also a talented teacher! The way you explain concepts really works for my ADHD brain somehow 😄 so thanks so much for that 🖤

[arturovegas]

Thanks for the video. I'm currently stuck on #5 so the solution presented will definitely be applied to get me out of this rut.

[scottsponaas]

Oh I didn’t need to get ready. I came prepared! I even wore a helmet since you always throw some motivational hands at the start of the video. Keep bringing the 🔥🔥🔥!