So, resist the urge to declare a piece ‘finished’ too soon. Edit, edit and edit again...

1.       Don’t ‘tinker’ with your work as you write. It’s tempting but you’ll never finish. Get the first draft down and leave the editing for later.

2.       But don’t edit immediately. Put the draft away for as long as you can and return to it later with a more objective eye. And if you can get someone else (preferably another writer) to have a look at your work, so much the better. They will spot things that you’ve missed.  

3.       If you’re writing on a computer, run your spellchecker (but remember, it won’t identify incorrectly-used homophones,  like ‘their’, ‘they’re’ and ‘there’) and print out your work. Don’t edit on screen - you’ll miss things.  

4.       Read your piece aloud.  Does anything jar? Are too-long sentences leaving you breathless? Have you repeated any words or phrases or used any clichés?

5.       Aim to cut at least 10% of your first draft.  You’ll reduce any waffle but still retain the (more concise!) essence of the piece.   

6.       Is your first sentence  - or even paragraph - superfluous? We often ‘write ourselves in’ and by cutting out the first line or more, you might find yourself with a snappier opening.

7.       Can any of your minor characters be cut or assimilated? In a short story, for example, you should be aiming for the minimum number of characters and often two ‘walk on parts’ could be blended into one.  And on the subject of characters, check none of them changes name or the spelling of their name half way through. Are all the characters’ names sufficiently different, so the reader won’t mix them up? Try to avoid having a ‘Joanne, John and Jacob’ in the same story, for example.

8.       Does your dialogue reveal character or move the story on? If not – cut it! But conversely, if you haven’t included dialogue (in fiction), try putting some in. It will add some ‘zing’ and break the page up. Pages of uninterrupted text are very off-putting for the modern reader.     Have you used indirect speech anywhere? Consider changing it to direct speech which will bring your characters to life. Eg: ‘John said he was really disappointed to have missed Mary’ (indirect) becomes, in direct speech: “Aw, no! I’ve not missed her, have I? I’ve run all the way home an’ all!” Immediately we get an idea of age, dialect and we can ‘hear’ the character’s voice.  

9.       Does your story or article ‘dip’ in the middle? Keep things lively or your reader may not reach the end. 

10.   Endings are important and easily rushed. Is yours satisfying or does it just fizzle out? If it sounds flat, rework it.