Very nice tips. There are things that can be easily skipped when in a rush but of course, shouldn't be.
I'm better at editing other's work than my own. I wish that weren't the case, but it is. Unfortunately, I rarely have someone to proofread for me, so I have to re read things over nad over and over. And even then, Once its in print, I see things and go, " Oh Crimeny" well, not exactly that, but you get my point!
I see a lot of major news channels like abc, nbc, fox, msn, etc. have major errors in the articles they release to the public on their websites. Everything from double words to misspelled words and sentences that don't make any sense whatsoever and you literally have to spend minutes figuring out what the he11 they were just saying. A high school student making these errors, I can understand but news stations should have those simple errors removed prior to release. Oh my bad... they must of printed that article when the American Union of Editors went on strike. Good tips, and I hate grammar check. It never likes anything you type. Sorry computer I speak american not refined upper class British English. My ACT, I got a 27 in math, and 20 in English. Hmmm... go figure. Computers and Math I get... Words and sentences... not so much. JJP
I have been very lucky there. My Mother taught post-graduate writing courses and actually helped me with my writing and editing work. Through her I was actually able to obtain many advanced courses in writing from some of the more prestigious universities. Still, if I have to edit my own work, I prefer to set it aside for at least three days. Two weeks is optimum. I find that on occasion, I will write what I think I meant to say rather than what I meant to say. Going over the material later allows me to read it from a fresh vantage point. Still, since that is not often viable given time restraints and deadlines, I prefer having someone else review my work. Ward Tipton
As well as editing your work to check for spelling/grammar etc. I think a bit of planning is useful. Assuming you're doing this at an article level and not a novel then just a couple bullet points (even if they're in your head) are a good idea. Come up with a handful of key points and put them in the right order. Then, as you right (bearing in mind most articles are relatively short), work your way from one to the next. I generally come up with the focus of my article before I get going - as well as the angle I plan to take - and put each point in to a different paragraph. Speaking of paragraphs, they're absolutely vital. No one likes reading large chunks of text, so put each new idea in a seperate paragraph. I tend to put a blank line between each paragraph to break it up further, but that's just personal preference.
After writing an article on something I knew almost nothing about beforehand (Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting), I'd like to point out how important either focusing on topics you know or are willing to research is. If I hadn't researched my topic I wouldn't have had a clue about it. Know your subject material, as even if your spelling and grammar are perfect if your article doesn't contain anything other than rambling it won't be worth much.
You should post a link to that article Mordent. If not just PM me the link to the article. I would be interested in knowing what you wrote. I may be working on a project in the next year or so that may require significant bandwidth, and I don't think shared hosting is going to cut it. Thanks, JJP