Editing is a mixed bag among writers. For some, it’s the most daunting part of the process, something to be dodged and feared. For others it’s the best part, where they can finally fix their draft, perfecting their work into what they envisioned all along. Ideally, we look at all aspects of a piece when we edit: correct grammar and spelling; check facts; appraise the style; and if it’s fiction, evaluate the plot. There is one important element that is easy to overlook, however, and that element is flow.
Flow is organization, the way one idea flows into the next. We can be pretty nonlinear when we speak, bouncing between concepts and ideas as they come to mind. Initial drafts are the most like speaking in that regard. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing fiction or not, there’s always that spark of creativity as we mull over and expound our ideas. We catch the thoughts as they come, pressing them onto the page as fast as we can, but the first order you come out with isn’t necessarily the best one, even if you’re a careful outliner.
Your writing could be flawless, beautiful even, but the more a reader struggles to follow your train of thought, the less they can focus on what you actually mean. Rearranging your sentences allows you to put those thoughts where they belong, crafting a clean, smooth train of thought.
Once upon a time authors did this step with scissors and a tub of glue, snipping their manuscripts into strips and re-piecing them together on another sheet of paper, but not anymore. Today it’s as easy as copy and paste. Often you don’t have to change the wording at all (at least not until the line-by-line edit phase), you just have to rearrange until the train of thought is smooth, layering arguments, thoughts, and scenes until they fit together without a crack.
Despite this, I’m surprised at how frequently this step of editing is overlooked. People fiddle with word choice, scrounge for grammar mistakes, even rewrite the whole piece entirely, when all they need is some simple adjustment to the structure.
This will be easier with some pieces than others. Sometimes there will only be a few misplaced thoughts. Others, the whole project will be a patchwork of concepts and ideas, ready to be stitched together like a basket of granny-squares.
Try thinking of your writing as a collection of puzzle pieces to be fit together. A sentence might be there, but where does it actually connect—where can it go to best support the argument, build the scene, or display the idea you’re trying to convey? As the flow of your work improves, where each sentence belongs becomes clear. If you really can’t find a place to add something you might need to let it go: add it to your “dustbin” for later use.
There are a lot of things you can do to make this process easier. Setting your work aside for a while is a big one, as well as reading your work out loud. But the
biggest help by far is practice. Pay close attention not only to the flow of your own work, but of others as well. It’s like having an ear for music or an eye for color: you develop it over time.
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