Before sharing your story with a peer editor, you want to polish it as extensively as possible. The goal is to turn it into a well told story. What matters isn't what the story is, but how it is told. The pre-editing is to help you polish the story and make it at successful as possible.
I. 1st Page Evaluation
The first page has to accomplish several things. Evaluate your story with each in mind and rewrite where needed.
A. First lines. Are the first lines interesting? Do they encourage you to read on?
B. Is whatever introduced in the first page part of the last page? Generally the last page of your story is what the story is about. Rewrite the first page to match the last, not the other way around.
C. Does the 1st page introduce the main character?
D. Does the 1st page establish the setting?
E. Does the 1st page establish the conflict?
II. Scene Evaluation
Each scene has to accomplish several things. Identify the scenes first, then evaluate them with the goals in mind. Rewrite where needed.
A. Is it clear where and when the scene is in relationship to the previous scene?
B. Are there appeals to at least three senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)?
C. Does the scene advance the story?
D. Does the scene raise the stakes (make the conflict more important or deepen suspense)?
E. Does the scene have a beginning, middle and end?
III. Character Evaluation
The main character needs to be more than a name.
A. Does the main character have a physical description that touches on the important elements?
B. Does the main character have a past?
C. Does the main character have a distinct way of speaking?
D. Does the main character reveal who she/he is by actions/thoughts/appearance/speech, etc.?
IV. Style
A. Have you read the story outloud to hear awkwardness?
B. Have you eliminated unneeded words (be suspicious of any word ending in "ly" and intensifiers like "very")?
C. Have you used specific nouns and verbs?
The Assignment | Ideas for Stories | Peer editing | Grading Rubric
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