the rosemoirs

Bite-size edits (http://www.bitesizeedits.com) is (in its own words) “a game where players get points for editing”.

Upload your writing and it gets chopped up by their edit-monkeys into sentence long pieces and handed out to users to edit. Once each sentence has been reviewed by a few people you can either accept, reject, or make your own changes, before the monkey gets out his pritt stick and puts it back together.

The product is a document where each sentence has been considered carefully by a variety of eyes.
All this editing happens for free, editors earn points for looking at your work, and you don’t need Bruce to tell you what points mean.

Obviously this kind of editing has it’s limits. The editors can’t comment on continuity or the strength of your plot (although some might prefer that), but the line by line focus it gives you and your editors means you can eliminate the silly little errors that can be hard to pick up on when reading a chunk of text (but always stand out when it’s too late).

You also have control over who edits your texts, you can choose to limit it to certain users, all users, or even just yourself.

If you don’t have any writing ready to be reviewed then editing the snippets is a good enough reason to sign up in itself. Being forced to consider each sentence is also a good way of developing your editing skills. It’s easy not to take your time over editing, and skim over sentences in a large chunk of text. Bite Size Edits will help you to learn to take things slowly, focus on each sentence and make sure every word is working.

Even if bite-size edits is not for you I shouldn’t need to say that having others cast a critical eye over your work is essential if you are serious about writing. Whether you are using bite-size edits, or gingerly handing your work to someone to someone you know, there are- in my opinion- two key rules:

1. Don’t throw your dummy out of the pram.
It shouldn’t need saying, but it does. If someone tells you your text needs work, work on it. Don’t argue, don’t have a tantrum, don’t demonise them and make them your writing nemesis. That is a very quick way to alienate yourself from people who, if you listen, will give you good solid advice.
If you give out your work to be critiqued then the best response you can get is for someone to find the weaknesses in your work. Unless you are [insert name of your favourite writer here] you are not perfect, and there is still a lot of developing you could do. Welcome criticism and use it to identify your strengths and weaknesses. After all, you write for it to be read, so listen to your readers.
If you’re only interested in positive feedback then writing will make a very nice hobby for you, but your chances of getting published are very limited.

2. Choose your critics carefully
Your mum thinks you write wonderfully, she’s always been supportive of you and still has a painting you did when you were five on the fridge. Even though it is of a cat that only has 3 legs she insists it is perfect. Your work colleagues nod enthusiastically and smile, and tell you that their 8 year old wrote a wonderful poem. Your friend, who also showed you their writing (you thought it was terrible but didn’t tell them that) also thinks it is great. But when you show it to an experienced writer they tell you that although they like the story it’s too rushed, the characters are undeveloped and a lot of your sentences are running on, and need to be tidied.
It’s possible that your mum, colleague and friends are right and the experienced writer is just mean. But it’s not likely. Count to ten, consider my first point, and think it over rationally. Your mum loves everything you do, your colleague’s kid is not Pablo Neruda (and is always covered in chocolate), and your best friend probably doesn’t want to offend you anymore than you did them.
The best person to edit your work is someone whose writing you respect and you can trust to be honest with you. In writing, your best friends are those that develop you.

If you don’t have writing friends then bite-size edits can help you with the second point. My first text has finished the editing stage and I’ve reviewed the changes. I accepted the vast majority of suggested edits and came out with a piece that had improved dramatically. I was going to post it here, as a before and after, but I’ve found the process has highlighted more areas I can work on by myself.

Bite-size edits has not long started and is still in Beta, making now a great time to sign up and take part. Hugh doesn’t bite and, like any good writer, is inviting feedback and suggestions. They already have a list of proposed developments that they are working through, and I’m looking forward to seeing the project develop.