THE WRITER: Editing - Find and Replace

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Find and replace bad writing. Understand this concept and your work will go to new heights and make your writing shine.

Begin

Find:

Begin
Begins
Began
Beginning

Replace: replace these types of words with active verbs.

Example:

David began to eat his breakfast. (Incorrect)
David ate breakfast. (Correct)

Note: The reader doesn’t need to know that the characters began something, the reader will know. The reader just needs to know that the character is doing it.

Start

Find:

Start
Starts
Started
Starting

Replace: Replace with Active verb. All the reader needs to know is that the character is doing it

Example:

Rachael started to run home after school. (Incorrect)
Rachael ran home after school. (Correct)

Note: The words began and start in writing is a sure sign of an amateur. They are the most over used words. Go through your work and find and replace these words, for they hold no value.

“ing” Verbs

Find:

Search through the writing for words ending with “ing”, this can be hard and take time, but once it is complete you will be glad that you did.

Replace:

This part can take some time, for it requires thought, and depends on the context of the sentence. Replace with verbs ending with “ed” when proceeded by “was”, “were”, and “is”.

Example:

Tom and Kelly were staring at the sky. (Incorrect)
Tom and Kelly stared at the sky. (Correct)

Note: Go through your written work and find and replace words ending with “ing”, it will make your work more vivid and helps to eliminate needless words. This can be tricky and take some time, but the effort will pay off, and your readers will thank you.

Adverbs

Find:

Find any word that ends with “ly”.

Replace:

Replace adverbs other verbs

Example:

Tammy nervously bit her nails as she watched out the window for Sam to return home. (Incorrect)
Tammy chewed her nails as she watched out the window for Sam to return home. (Correct)

Note: Banish as many Adverbs as possible. Adverbs slow done the action in a story. Weaken the prose. Find and replace adverbs or cutout all together. Adverbs have no business in a story. It is a sign of amateur and a lazy writer. Banish adverbs.

Time Based Adverbs

Find:

When
Then
Suddenly
Immediately
always
Already
Finally
Etc.

Replace:

Replace Time based Adverbs with stronger verbs, or cutout all together.

Note: Banish all Time Based Adverbs, such adverbs are useless. They slow the action and make writing look sloppy and amateurish.

Summary:

Every writer should adapt the Find and replace Method. This method is a great and easy way to improve readability, and to bring the writing to the next level. Everything listed above has no need in your work. They are useless words and a lazy form of writing. Every great book has very little adverbs, and the only time such words are used is when there were no other alternative to express a point. Stories with lots of adverbs are amateurish, sloppy, and hard to read.

You as the writer must take great care of your writing, and only after multiple edits should you release your story to the public to be read. The writing world is a hard field to break into, and if your work is full of adverbs then your chances of success are slim, if not impossible. For the use of such words tells an editor everything they need to know. Lazy writers have no business in the field of writing, and only the best will come on top. If you want to be a writer, and be a good writer then do your homework and edit your story as many times as it takes to make it as perfect as possible. Your story should be easy to read, with fewer adverbs as possible. A writer should have basic understanding of proper grammar, basic editing skills, and a basic understanding of Parts of Speech. If not, don’t bother, and don’t waste an editor’s time or anyone’s else’s time, including mine. To be a writer you must take great pride in your work, and you must LOVE the Art of Writing.