New Writblr Game

New Writblr Game

Ask someone a question about their oc and the writer has to answer from the POV of the oc

Editing  & Proofreading Cheat Sheet

– A lot of questions I receive revolve around editing and proofreading, so I decided to make an extensive guide to editing your own writing. I collaborated with some amazing friends on this post so this is dedicated to them as well as all of you. I hope you find it useful. Enjoy!

Know The Difference: Editing vs. Proofreading

Editing is about the content, proofreading is about the technical detail and accuracy. Once you know the difference and you separate the two into different tasks, going through and actually doing it will seem less daunting. Deciding which to tacking first depends on what you’re like when you edit, but if you struggling with focusing on actually improving the content because you get distracted by grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, then proofreading first may be a good idea. 

Be Intentional With Your Vocabulary

Avoid adverbs

Be frugal with unique adjectives

Only use dialogue tags when absolutely necessary

Be mindful of overused words

Take the time to find the right words

The words you choose can make all the difference so pay special attention to them.

Just Keep Snipping

A basic rule to editing that people often forget it, if it doesn’t serve a purpose, you should cut it out. A short book that is amazing all the way through is better than a long book that is redundant. Don’t worry about leaving your readers in the dark or not having enough content. As you edit, you’ll find ways and places in which to input more information.

Flow & Rhythm

This is the part where you make sure the writing itself sounds how you want it to. It’s important to read your writing aloud during this stage. Some things to pay attention to regarding flow and rhythm:

sentence length/variation

sentence structure

syllables and how they fit together

how your writing sounds out loud

Eloquence

Say it once and say it clearly. Redundancy bores readers so quickly, so when putting information forward, be clear, concise, and don’t add fluff. You don’t need to write a whole paragraph about how a character feels in a situation. It’s important to give the reader just enough to read between the lines.

Grammar

Common Grammar Mistakes To Look For

Subject-verb agreement errors

Sentence Fragments

Missing Comma After Introductory Element

Misusing The Apostrophe With “Its”

No Comma In A Compound Sentence

Misplaced Or Dangling Modifier

Vague Pronoun Reference

Wrong Word Usage

Run-On Sentence

Superfluous Commas

Lack Of Parallel Structure

Sentence Sprawl

Comma Splice

Colon Mistakes

Split Infinitives

List from here x {Explains these further and more in depth}

Improper Use of Phrases

“could have” not “could of”

“My friends and I” not “me and my friends” {If you take away “my friends” or “I”, or one of the nouns in a sentence in general, the sentence should still make sense}

“I couldn’t care less” not “I could care less”. This should be a no-brainer.

etc.. I could go on.

Familiarize yourself with these common mistakes and avoid making them at all costs. It’s also helpful to have someone read over it and let you know when they find issues with phrases you used. Please be attentive to these mistakes because making them can destroy your credibility as a writer.

Utilize The Senses

If you’re describing something in your writing, you should be slipping in words and little details that appeal to the reader’s senses, When editing, look for opportunities to slip in how a place smells, how a food tastes, how something feels to the touch, etc. It’s unbelievable how much this enhances your story.

Punctuation & Format

Punctuation Rules In English

the period (or full stop in British English)

the comma

the exclamation mark

the question mark

the colon

the semicolon

the quotation mark

the apostrophe

the hyphen and the dash

parentheses and brackets

Source x

When proofreading and marking up your manuscript, it can save a lot of time and energy if you use marks instead of actually write out everything, so here is a little chart I found that may be useful to you:

Other Things To Look Out For

Make sure you know who is talking

Keep tense consistent

Vary the tone from scene to scene

Run-on sentences

Inconsistencies in story details

Plot holes

Causes and effects of events are explained

Facts and technical details {Make sure you’ve researched them well}

Deviations from established background (know your story really really well and make sure your reader does too)

General Tips

Go in assuming that your work is full of errors. Maybe it’s not, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst and solve the issues now rather than when it’s too late

DO NOT BE SENTIMENTAL. Yes, easier said than done, but it’s possible. 

Make the text less recognizable to yourself in order to catch details you may not otherwise.

Print out your manuscript and physically write out the changes.

Read your writing out loud. Sometimes writing looks like it makes sense, but in reality sounds wrong. 

Do it in short periods over time so that you don’t inevitably get lazy with paying attention to little details

Keep in mind that editing usually takes longer than actually writing the draft because it is less fluid and requires more thought and problem solving.

Don’t rely on spelling and/or grammar checking software; they’re not always correct and can easily misinterpret what you’re trying to get across. 

Check for a single error at a time. It may be time consuming and tedious but it’s more effective than the alternative.

Give yourself time and read slowly through it multiple times

Split up large chunks of text to make it easier to handle. Don’t go through your whole manuscript page by page as if you were just reading it as a book. Go chapter by chapter or scene by scene or even sentence by sentence.

If something seems off, investigate it. Don’t take a chance and leave it be. If you’re stumped, highlight it and have someone else look over it.

Have a strategy. Maybe not at first, especially if you don’t extensively edit your work regularly, but with time you’ll find what works for you and what doesn’t. Create your own system and use it to save yourself some time and confusion.

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me, with a vague plot idea, 1 (one) character name, and an outline that consists of mostly question marks:

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT

I’M BACK BABY!  I’M SO EXCITED!

It seems I am finally off explicit status, and get ready for some shitposting, whump posting and writing postings! Thank you to every single person who supported me, especially @captivity-whump and @justtorturewhump, for helping staff and support to recognize I am a humble whump blog.  I’ve missed you all so much, but I’ve got some good news.  I am determined to finish Whumptober this year, it’s my first year, and I don’t know exactly if I will but I’ve got some great stories lined up.  @jo-castle Every time I would want to stop and give up, I would look at your messages and keep going.  You’re amazing and I can’t thank you enough!

If anyone’s got any questions, or you decided we’re going to be friends now, hit me up!  I’m always down for someone to talk whump too!  I love you all!

I’m reblogging this again, hopefully y’all can see it before I start Whumptober- some prompts are in this story!verse

I doubt anyone will really see this but I need to post it so y’all can understand the stuff I’ve got planned for Whumptober

“If you don’t mind, I’d really rather you let him go.”

He’d never been happier to see his new partner.  Her curly blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, she dressed in her normal uniform of dark green and black, her quiver hanging loosely from her belt, her face masked.

“You Heroes.”  Dark Arrow sneered.  “Always acting like you’re so high and mighty.  I see you’re not above torture.  Luckily, neither am I.”

She threw another knife, hitting her target once more.  This time, Endeavor dropped to one knee after Arrow’s knife found itself tearing through his patellar tendon.

Arrow ran forward to Michael’s chains, slashing through them with unparalleled accuracy.  He all but collapsed into her arms, his body unable to support him anymore.  She surveyed the damage and frowned in disgust.

“Were you trying to lose the other one?”  Arrow scoffed.  “I know I caused you to lose the first one but seriously, losing the other to spite me is going too far.”

“Oh really?”  Michael smirked.  “I thought it just landed on the edge of tasteful.”

Dark Arrow snickered.

“How touching.”  Endeavor grunted, trying to heal the wound in his knee.  “The traitor comes to the rescue of a second-rate thief.”

“I’d rather come to his rescue that yours, jackass.”  Arrow shot back, sweeping Michael off his feet.  He was so tired that he didn’t protest Arrow carrying him bridal style.

As she ran, Michael’s consciousness fluttered, missing Arrow’s nigh frightened looks at him.  But Dark Arrow was good at her job, always had been, and easily evaded capture until they were outside again.

“Where- where are we?”  Michael gasped out, as if he had been running with her.

“Middle of buttfuck nowhere.”  Arrow set him down, gently, against what he thought to be a rock wall.  “Technically, that place isn’t even on a map.  Went to three different Hero Hideouts looking for you.  You just seem to be a rare commodity to them.”

“And Endeavor called me second-rate.”  Michael proudly smiled, then doubled over coughing.

“Easy, there Nyx.  You took a hard beating.”  Arrow said, gently helping him up.

“Definitely at least four-star torture.”  Michael groaned.  “Would’ve given it five but the repetitiveness of the knives and punches got old after a while.”

Arrow forced a small smile, though Michael knew it was fake.  She was still unused to how brutal their world could truly be.

“Are we safe here?”  He asked.

“For the moment.”  Arrow replied.  “This is the best I can do.  I’ll put up a couple reflector shields but I don’t have many.  I didn’t want to carry too much and not be able to carry you.  My quiver may not hold arrows anymore but the shit it does gets heavy after a while.  I don’t have super strength, you know.”

“Then take off your mask.”  He said.  “If we’re safe here, then you don’t need to be masked around me.  We’re supposed to be partners.  We have to trust each other.”

Arrow bit her lip, as if internally debating, looked away and didn’t answer.

“Fayelin.”

Her real name caught her by surprise.

“Please.”

Fayelin’s shoulders slumped as she gently tugged the black material down her face.  With a jolt, he was reminded of just how young she was.  Without her either of her masks on, she looked her actual age of nineteen.

“You’re staring at me again.”  Fayelin scolded, blushing.  For someone who had all but grown up in the limelight, she hated being the center of attention for too long.

“Sorry.”  He said, his voice no louder than a whisper.  It seems that simple argument had sapped his entire strength.

“I’ll start treating those.  I’m no doc, but I know enough field healing in order to kickstart the process.”

“Shields first.”  He reminded her.

Fayelin cursed under her breath.  “Okay, shields first, then I’ll start on the lacerations.”

He meant to nod, to give her some words of encouragement, but the pull of unconsciousness became too strong and sleep descended like an axe.

(Don’t know how to insert line break so assume it’s there)

The cave she and her mentor used to camp out in hadn’t changed in the years since she last visited it.  It was still pretty dark, smelled damp even though there was no water, and had a very small opening.  It had been the best way he could spend time with her while still staying close to his work.  She had just been a kid then.  She wasn’t one now.

Setting up reflector shields was second nature to her, that being one of the first lessons she ever learned as a Hero.  Normally, she put them on herself so she could blend in with her surroundings, but they could easily be used to reflect the area around them.  This way, unless someone was specifically looking for the edge where the reflection ended, no one would notice that the landscape around them was simply a reflection of the world around them.  Killian had told her that no one else knew of this cave, that he had discovered it by himself, and that he had kept it secret to share it only with her.  She didn’t know if that was entirely true, but she had trusted her former mentor so she hoped she had answered Nyx’s question honestly.

She returned to find Nyx asleep, curled up against the wall, his dark hair nigh matted to his skin with blood and sweat, a frown etched into his face.  He must be in terrible pain, she thought.  So she pulled the first aid kit out of her trusty quiver and got to work.

@winedark-whump

I am literally speechless... this was so amazing!!!!! I don’t have words! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! I absolutely adored every word!!!! I love you so much!!!!!!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!

Hey! I love your writing! You're so good at creating the perfect balance of hurt and comfort and how each character properly reacts to being sick/hurt. If your prompt are open, keep going. If they're not, just ignore this bit. Anakin!whump is my absolute favorite, and you do it so well. If I may, can I request a whatever length you desire on Anakin having a high fever in the field (whether it's from sickness or infection is up to you) and Obi-Wan taking care of him

“Do you really think we are getting anywhere with these people, Master?” Anakin asked, slouching back in his saddle. “If they’re really going to join the Republic, they’ll have to send representatives to Coruscant—and they’re gonna find out that the rest of the galaxy is full of big, scary speeders.”

“Jedi do not mock other peoples,” Obi-Wan corrected him. “We have been invited here to negotiate, the least we can do is respect the lands that they hold sacred.”

Anakin sighed petulantly. His guapa craned its head down to snatch a mouthful of the tall weeds and he responded by giving the rein a sharp jerk. The beasts had been lent to them by a local congressman, because aircraft and motorized vehicles were forbidden to cross this particular stretch of moorland.

“All I’m saying is that we could be there by now,” he huffed.

“I know,” Obi-Wan conceded. They were both already saddle-sore from two days’ ride.

“This could’ve taken an hour instead of three days, if it weren’t for the stupid—”

“Padawan.” Obi-Wan shifted in his saddle and looked askance over his shoulder. “What has gotten into you today?”

Anakin ducked his head at the reprimand. Obi-Wan rarely called him that anymore, he was entering his third year as a senior padawan, and would be a knight candidate soon—if Obi-Wan ever decided to recommend him for the trials. But he realized that the way he was acting wasn’t exactly demonstrating his maturity.

“I’m sorry, Master,” Anakin said. “I’m just a little out of sorts.”

“And why is that?”

Anakin shrugged.

Obi-Wan turned around again to raise an eyebrow at him.

“My head just hurts,” he admitted. He pulled his guapa’s nose up from the weeds again.

Obi-Wan nodded in understanding.

“We still have a long way to go,” Obi-Wan said after a pause. He unclipped the canteen from the saddlebag that held his bedroll, and passed it over. “You should stay hydrated so it doesn’t get worse.”

Anakin accepted the canteen and took a drink, thankful that he hadn’t received a lecture.

They rode until the sun was low in the sky, then stopped to let the guapas drink from a small brook. Anakin slid off like a sack of potatoes.

“How’s your headache?” Obi-Wan asked, offering him a hand to steady himself, which he ignored.

“Ugh,” Anakin reported. He got to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

“I’m going to stretch my legs for a bit,” Obi-Wan said.

“Whatever.” Anakin sat down to rest against scraggly tree.

Obi-Wan frowned in acknowledgement and left to wander further up the path, coaxing the stiffness from his limbs. When he returned, Anakin was resting his forehead on his knees.

“I found—”

“Could you possibly speak a little quieter?” Anakin groaned. He lifted his face from his knees, and Obi-Wan’s frown deepened. He was quite pale, with fevered blotches high on his cheeks.

“Are you coming down with something?” Obi-Wan asked, whispering for the sake of Anakin’s throbbing head.

Anakin ignored the question.

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