My Personal Editing Check List

As I'm editing I'm always adding to a checklist of edits I know to watch out for in the rough draft stage of my work in progress. It makes me think harder about each sentence, words I overlook and overuse, and variations in my vocabulary. Some examples I've found helpful:

• Reaction after action: check to make sure all physical, emotional, and any other type of reaction happens after the action. Such as: Harry gasped. What in the world did she think she was doing up in that tower? This sentence should be: What in the world did she think she was doing up in that tower? Harry gasped. Bad example, but you get the point.
• Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly. Make each word count. If you have to use an adjective or adverb, maybe you need to re-work the sentence to make it stronger.
• Don't summarize information when you can put it into dialogue.

Those are just some of my run of the mill tips from my checklist that help me turn out a better manuscript.