The Typewriter Technique

Psst. Over here.

A little closer ... C'mon, scoot in a little closer....

I wanted to tell you, I'm trying something new with my WiP.

It's an editing technique I've never tried before.

I discovered it because I rewrote my first chapter in a different document. Then I pulled up the document with my critique partner's comments in it and laid the documents out side by side on the screen.

Now I'm retyping the whole book from the old document into the new document.

I feel a little bit like I'm using a typewriter, because I'm not using the cut-and-paste function.

I'm retyping.

Editing as I go.

It's amazing how many unnecessary words are going away. It's easier to hack them out when I don't have to dive into the text and delete them. And if I feel like rewriting a whole scene, it's less painful.

I'm calling this my Typewriter Technique. I'm about 12,000-words into my 65,000-word novel. I'll let you know how it goes....

Slow and painful, yes. But so far I like the results.

Has anyone else tried this?

(And why am I whispering? Maybe because I'm wondering if the Typewriter Technique is editing's best kept secret.)