How to Finish a Piece of Writing

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By sweeneic
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You've finished the masterpiece. Or have you?

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

So you've been working for some time now on that great piece of writing, be it a novel, a poem, a short story, an essay.
Step 2

It would be easy to just send it "out there" hoping some editor will see your brilliance. But wait! You're not really done.
Step 3

Clear your mind. Get rid of distractions. Maybe take a deep breath or close your eyes.
Step 4

Pretend you are a member of your target audience. Pretend you have never seen this piece of writing before. Read it with a fresh mind.
Step 5

Ask yourself, "What is missing? What can I do better? Is this piece confusing anywhere?" Listen to the answers and make necessary changes.
Step 6

Repeat steps 3-5. Keep repeating these steps until you can't stand it anymore, then repeat them just a few more times.
Step 7

After you can't stand steps 3-5 anymore, read the piece again. This time, look for grammatical errors and poor sentence structure. Fix whatever problems arise. Repeat this step.
Step 8

Remind yourself that you love writing. You'll probably need to remind yourself because you may forget after all this revising and proofreading.
Step 9

Now, you are ready to send it "out there." You should feel pretty good; your chances of publication just increased. You just spent all that time making sure your brilliance will shine through.

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