Short Story Editing Checklist

Read the article at the end and use its suggestions in combination with your own insight to
provide useful and relevant feedback.
You will each submit checklist with your partners work to demonstrate that you have
participated in the editing component of the short story development.

You must also hand in a copy of this sheet with your own work as part of the writing
process component of your assignment.

Give each section a 1, 2, or 3 (1 needs lots more work, 2 needs some improvement,
3 needs very little work). Once you have finished editing, sign your name on the line
at the bottom of this page. Then give it to person whose work you have edited (keep it
if you are doing one for yourself.

Use this as guidance as a tool when editing and publishing your final copy. So get out your
colored pens and get marking!!!
A) Dialogue .if any
_____________ No dialogue is included but would improve the piece.
______________ Dialogue is engaging and effectively builds character.
_____________ The writer uses a variety of phrases.
_____________ The writers dialogue/conversation is punctuated correctly.
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

B) Point of view 2nd 1st or 3rd person

_____________ The same point of view is used consistently and effectively throughout the
whole story.
_____________ The point of view makes sence for your understanding of events as a
reader.
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

C) Problem/Conflict (Central Problem)

_____________There is an obvious central problem which drives all of the details
of the story.
_____________There is an obvious introduction, climax and conclusion involving the
central problem.
_____________The What if is obvious.
_____________The cental problem feels real / is believable even if it requires a suspension
of disbelief
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

D) Setting
_____________ The setting is clear, descriptive.
_____________ It is very detailed and imaginative.
_____________ The setting is introduced in the first scenes of the story.
_____________ The setting makes sence for the story.
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

E) Theme
_____________ The story has a theme or message that the reader can identify/understand.
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

F) Characters
_____________ the characters in the story are well developed through dialogue,
description and personality.
_____________ the characters in the story are all critical to strong story development
_____________ the characters in the story have an appropriate and obvious motivation.
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

G) Paragraphs/Sentences
____________ The student has used a variety of sentences lengths to create pacing.
____________ The student has not used run-on sentences, and has their story broken up
into paragraphs.
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

H) Spelling/Grammar/Punctuation
____________ Spelling
____________ Homophones (their, there, theyre, etc. words that sound the same with
different spellings / meanings) are used correctly.
____________ Capitals used correctly on names, places, beginning sentences
____________ Periods, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, etc. used correctly.
No run-on sentences. No unintentional fragments.
____________ Flow is not impeded.
Recommendations for improvement: What needs improving and how can that be achieved?

Please print your name then sign below on the line once you have looked youre your
groups story!

Name: ________________

Signature: _______________

You as THE EDITOR

Excerpt from Checklist for Editors, by Beth Hill,
http://theeditorsblog.net/2011/06/07/checklist-for-editors
Writers are often concerned with the story in their heads and with getting that story to the
page. Editors are often concerned with the elements of the story that are not yet on the
pagethey look to see whats missing. Editors also focus on weeding out distractions
from the core storycharacters who dont fit, settings that dont work, dialogue that
adds nothing, sub-plots that dilute the main plot, and digressions and rabbit trails and
non-productive elements that either neuter the power of the story or actually detract
from it.
Editing can be art, but there are standards and practices and even tips and tricks you can
bring to your edits to ensure youve been complete in your evaluation.
Lets consider areas that editors do look at and should look at, and simply put them in lists
with a bit of explanation. This way youll know areas youll want to cover in an edit.
_____________________________
Big-picture areas
Plot
~ Questions to ask
Is it interesting and engrossing?
Is there enough to sustain the story through the final page?
Are there too many sub-plots, not enough sub-plots?
Are major plot issues resolved?
Is plot introduced in an engaging way?
Does the story make sense?
Are there hooks; are they logical; are they related to the rest of the plot?
Is plot engaging, inevitable, believable?
Is the plot full enough or does it feel thin?
Is the premise right for the story thats been written?
Has reader expectation been whetted and then satisfied?
Is there a focus or is the plot scattered?
Does the story start in the right place?

~ Steps to take/what plot should do

Weed out coincidence
Maintain forward movement
Include surprises
Move logically from point to point
Resolve plot threads
Root out author intrusion
Whether you consider the opening event or the protagonists acceptance of his call to action
the inciting incident, make sure you have both
Make sure the ending is sufficient in terms of length and depth for the story
Make sure the ending is inevitable
Make sure the ending doesnt drag; make it satisfy the reader
Make sure the black moment and climax are strong enough for the story
Use back story sparingly and blend it so it doesnt stop story momentum

Character

~ Questions to ask
Are lead characters interesting enough for the story
Do lead characters have sufficient motivation to move through the plot
Is the antagonist strong enough, a good complement to the protagonist
Do characters have strengths and weaknesses
Are character goals clear
Are characters well-rounded
Are all featured characters vital to the plot
Is character motivation appropriate for the story that developed from it

~ Steps to take/what character should do

Make sure there are enough characters to carry the plot
Make sure there are no unnecessary characters
Give the main character secondary characters to support him
Give the main character characters strong enough to challenge him
Fit characters to genre and era
Give characters appropriate and sufficient habits, quirks, favorite words, speech patterns,
dreams, goals and motivations, and hot buttons that other characters can push
Make characters three-dimensionalinclude thoughts, actions, andreactions
Setting

~ Questions to ask
Is it conveyed sufficiently?
Is it appropriate for the story?
Would a different setting work better?
Is setting used to advance plot, to create tone, to increase tension?
Are readers given a clear sense of place and time for each scene?

~ Steps to take/what setting should do

Verify details
Make sure setting details are appropriate to story and scene
Make sure setting doesnt overwhelm action and plot
Include props that characters can handle and use
Dialogue

~ Questions to ask
Does dialogue advance the story?
Is dialogue appropriate to character?
Is dialogue appropriate to the scene?
Does dialogue increase conflict?

~ Steps to take/what dialogue should do

Ensure that characters sound sufficiently different?
Make sure it is dialogue and not conversation?
Use genre-appropriate dialogue tags?
Keep adverbs in dialogue tags to a minimum, unless genre allows them?
Scenes
Make sure there are a sufficient number of scenes
Make sure individual scenes satisfy and that they are different in terms of action events,
character combinations, dialogue patterns, and type of conflict

Give scenes variety in length, format, depth, and pattern

Use a variety of settings for scenes (or play against variety and stick to only a few settings)
Make sure scenes are in the best order to cause problems for the character and induce
tension in the reader
Point of view

~ Questions to ask
Is it the right POV for the story and for the scene; would another be better?
Is POV clear?
Is POV maintained within scenes?
Should POV change with scenes?
Who should be the viewpoint character in each scene?

~ Steps to take/what point of view should do

Make sure that viewpoint character doesnt change within scenes (no head-hopping)
Make sure viewpoint character knows only what he could really know
Use a change in POV or viewpoint character to bring story and character closer to the
reader or to hold the reader at a distance when necessary
Pace

~ Questions to ask
Does pace vary?
Is the pace of each scene appropriate?
Does pace influence tone?
Does pace increase/decrease tension?
Conflict

~ Questions to ask
Is there sufficient conflict in each scene and between characters?
Does conflict escalate?

~ Steps to take/what conflict should do

Create tension
Make characters and readers uncomfortable
Increase conflict as the story progresses
Ensure conflict between characters and between protagonist and himself and within the
antagonist
Balance

~ Steps to take/what balance should do

Ensure balance between elements; make sure no one element overwhelms
Balance character thoughts, dialogue, and actions with setting and description
Balance sections, scenes, chapters, and acts
Fine-detail areas
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Each must be checked; never assume theyre correct.
Maintain consistency in all three
Emotion
Be sure youve shown character emotions
Make sure you tapped into reader emotion

Go after more than one emotional event; induce more than one emotion per story
Style
Enhance the writers style as long as it serves the story
Make sure the style is cohesive
Fact checking
Check dates, technology and inventions, historical events. Anything thatcan be
verified needs to be verified.
Word choices
Delete unintended repetition
Make sure words are character, era, scene, and genre appropriate
Cut out unnecessary words
Understand how humor affects character, scene, tone, and plot, and use humor when
appropriate
Use specific verbs
Remove weak phrasing
Take out clichs and the writers pet words
Make every sentence and each word count
Sentence construction
Use variety in construction and in sentence length
Rhythm
Ensure variety in rhythm without producing annoying patterns
Consider giving characters unique sentence constructions
Time
Be sure that the passage of time is both clear and possible.
Make sure readers understand the timing of events and scenes
Clarity
Make sure that each section, bit of dialogue, scene, and chapter is clear
Tone
Ensure the tone achieved is what the writer intended and appropriate for the story

General questions and reminders

Has the writer made the reader care about the character and his dilemma?
Is the story entertaining?
Is there enough story to the story?
Is the story different enough to catch a readers attention?
Does the story move fast enough?
Does the story catch either the readers mind or heart, perhaps both?
Put the elements to workmake each do double or triple duty. Make dialogue advance plot
and reveal character and up the conflict level.
Remember the readerdont edit in a vacuum.
Remember the writerHe /She may have ideas of her own.

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