Fiction line/developmental editing

Fiction, general, genres, mystery, romance, scienc

Fiction and its genres allow the writer to take the reader to any place in this world or a purely created one. Storytelling is one of the oldest art forms, and putting stories into print often is only hindered by the writer finding a good editor. Fiction--including mystery, science fiction, and romance--can lead people into another place and time, but the transition is only seamless if the reader isn't constantly pulled out of the story by simple grammatical mistakes or odd paragraphs that veer off out of the flow of the story.

A good fiction editor can not only put commas in the right place and correct tense errors, but also suggest rearrangement of paragraph or chapter sequence for flow purposes and coax out the details that are vivid in the writer's mind but haven't yet made it to the page. Often times these small changes make a huge difference. The main reason that every writer needs an editor is that the writer has spent months or years constructing the story, thereby making what is on the page make perfect sense to them, even if important details are omitted from the page. A fresh set of eyes is often needed to ask for clarifications, extra details, or just forgotten elements, as well as catching pesky spelling mistakes.

Fiction isn't simply an exercise in fact checking, and editing it requires a keen eye and a willingness to allow the writer freedom to tell their story. Good grammar rules always should apply, but almost as important as the flow of a sentence is the flow of the overall story.