Top Tips for Editing Your Novel Without AI Assistance

I’m always on the lookout for ways to speed up editing without using AI. Why should writers avoid using AI to edit? Sue Coletta’s post at Story Empire nailed the potential for terrible advice. She summed up the problem and followed up with specific areas to focus your edits. No one, especially AI, will ever care as much about your book as you, so I’ll share four of my favorite tips on how you can use writing tools to edit your novel.

Edit the Elephant One Bite at a Time

Like elephants, novels are enormous beasts, containing between 60,000 to 100,000 words.

Keeping track of all the moving parts forces us to divide up the narrative into digestible (i.e., editable) chunks. A writer’s elephant looks something like this. (Use your imagination as to the elephant. 🐘)

Methods to Track Your Edits

For editing novels, one size does not fit all. For instance:

• Journal: Some writers use a simple journal, lined or unlined. They identify the section edited, denoting if completed or if the text needs more updates.
• Sticky Notes: Those with an available wall or a tabletop may prefer to use color-coded sticky notes. The colors denote what’s being edited, and as efforts progress, they place the notes into completed or to-do columns.
• Whiteboards: Like detectives use a whiteboard to sift through evidence and suspects, many use this low-cost tool to display visually the draft layout and what parts require work. Often they use marker colors to highlight what needs to be done next.
• Scrivener: For me, this app is the equivalent of a Swiss Army knife for writers, enabling the full power of the Trellis Method and its resources.
  • Story Premise (Always a click away to guide strategy)
  • Story Outline (Once Upon a Time… format for prototyping)
  • Story Beats (Turns the Story Outline into scene prompts)
  • Scenes & Scene Sequences based on Story Beats
  • Details and Notes associated with each Scene
  • Character Profiles (List every person and their key details!)

Note: Scrivener has the features and power to track every aspect of your novel.

• Excel or Numbers Spreadsheets: An excellent partner with MS Word.
  • Spreadsheets can emulate Scrivener’s features shown above.
  • Benefits vary based on the user’s skill at using the app.
• ProWritingAid* / Grammarly: Editing words, sentences, and paragraphs.
  • Many word processors include spelling and grammar checkers.
  • Apps like ProWritingAid and Grammarly offer comprehensive edits.
  • The apps are fairly accurate, but not perfect—trust but verify!
  • Apps fix many errors, lowering the cost of professional edits.

*Note: I do not use or recommend AI-powered editing of entire manuscripts.

Examples of Editing First Drafts

First Editing Tip: I use color coding to see how many times I’ve used character names within a scene. In this example from Scrivener, please note the first paragraph is one color and those that follow are a different color with automatic indentation. My color-coding index: Hero; Villain; Supporting Cast.

Second Editing Tip: Keep track of the scene’s POV character, timeline, and key scenes/conventions. Also, I use emojis as shorthand to denote the POV character’s role (e.g., evil = 👺 and killer = 🔪).

Third Editing Tip: Track the scene summary (e.g., digital index card), goal, and obstacle (i.e., the conflict). Some of my scenes have extensive notes (e.g., foreshadowing, improvement opportunities, and more). Also, at the bottom of my note, notice how I’m tracking each review. As I continue editing, I’ll add notes next to each review date.

Fourth Editing Tip: After editing your first draft, most of the key ingredients are cooking in the pot. Now it’s time to add the spices that will make your story recipe so tasty. In Scrivener, I’ve stored my Trellis Method checklist for scenes. Each checklist item has a drop-down of what to inspect. After I update my draft, I then select the drop-down to show completion of that review. In Scrivener’s metadata display, a completed checklist will appear with a green check mark. As the reviews progress, I can ignore the green check marks and focus on the red ones that I need to fix.

Strive to Tell the Best Story

Again, one size does not fit all. Select whatever combination of tools will work for you. Then, use them consistently! This is especially important if you’re like most writers and must pause your writing to address the many distractions of life.

Your Thoughts?

How do you leverage the combination of writing knowledge, experience, skills, and tools to get your manuscript ready to publish?