Level 3: Rewriting

Level 3 editing goes beyond level 1 correcting and level 2 rephrasing, to include revision and rewriting. This is a collaborative process: the writer will do the rewriting, following the editor's guidance. At levels 1 and 2 the editor has made corrections without consulting the author. But at level 3 the editor will make comments for the writer to think about. For example:

"This is a well-constructed story which keeps the reader guessing, but in chapter three the pace has slowed down"

"The language is straightforward and direct, but the clichés and inconsistencies can be irritating for the reader"

"Check for greater clarity in small points like pronouns, eg. her, which would sharpen up the writing"

An author's story started with a flat, colourless description of a funeral:

Tears were streaming down their faces. Their sister Bonnie had succumbed to cancer at the tender age of thirty. They huddled together under a garden heater, drinking tea and eating light refreshments.

The Betterwriter editor commented:

The phrase 'light refreshments' is a bit vague and dull: can you liven it up a bit? And 'tender age' is a cliché: can you find a more original expression? Also, can you use the background details to suggest how the main character is feeling?

The lifeless passage was rewritten.

Tears were streaming down their faces. Their sister Bonnie had succumbed to cancer at the shockingly early age of thirty. They huddled together, eating meagre refreshments and drinking luke-warm tea next to a half-hearted heater. But its flame couldn't thaw the numbness inside Laura. 'I might as well be drinking iced tea,' she thought, staring blankly at the sad chipolatas and limp vol-au-vents.