Your editing checklist

However you edit - whether it's after a page, after each chapter, or once the first draft of your novel is complete - there are certain things you should do to make sure your work is the best it can be.

You can get people to edit basic spelling, punctuation and grammar for you, but when it comes to the "heart" only you know how the story, the tone and the voice are supposed to play out.

Read your work aloud. 

Read each and every sentence. 

Read them separately and then read the complete scene. Does it work? Do you stumble over words? Is one sentence too long making you lose the thread of all the others? Do you pause where you have commas? If not, you need to make adjustments. 

When you're struggling to piece a block of text together, or a conversation, say what you want to be said out loud first and then write it down.
 
Imagine your readers reading the story. Is the language appropriate? Will they connect with the messages?

Does the plot flow? 

Are the sequence of events logical? 

Are there long periods where nothing is happening? 

Is the mix of speech, description and action equal throughout the whole story?
 
Use verb contractions to lighten your character's conversation. Instead of "I will do it", use "I'll do it". Write speech how it's really spoken using the different emotions of your characters to dictate that.

Avoid cliches - they are the devil. It's actually a really hard thing to do.

Avoid exclamation marks too. Try to bring out the emotion of the text without over emphasizing it with a ! If the sentence falls flat once the exclamation mark is removed - that sentence needs re-writing.

Finally, take out unnecessary words. Every word should earn its place.

I'm sure there are many other aspects to be thinking about, but these are the most important to me.