Editing in Chunks - It's Manageable, Satisfying and Smart - Try It

Editing in Chunks - It's Manageable, Satisfying and Smart - Try It

This approach can be a wonderful alternative to the overwhelming effort so often required in editing a complete document all at once.

You might ask - how large an area constitutes a chunk? Here's how I view it. I don't want to take too much, otherwise it begins to look like an insurmountable task. To me it's useful if it's just a page or two - sometimes less. So I look at the material and see if there are natural page breaks. If there are, I'll print out that segment. If there aren't, I insert page breaks at the beginning and end of the segment I want to work on and print that out. You've probably gathered by now that my preference is to work on a printout, not directly on screen.

If I'm working on a business proposal, I may break that proposal into chunks and work through them one at a time. I also apply this strategy to any area of text that's giving me trouble and need to straighten out. Applying this process provides me with two things:

1. It lets me focus on a specific segment without having to think about any other area of the material

2. It lets me work the segment intensely. If you've locked yourself into a chunk of a few paragraphs it's open for exploration. This is especially important if you believe that the content needs expanding or further explanation. It also permits the reverse. If you've got too much material you can cut it down to the size you need. If you've got more than one version of the material, as I sometimes do, where you must incorporate everything into one document, editing in chunks may be your answer.

My next step is to work the selected chunk, make the changes I feel necessary, and print out a revised version so I can go through it again until I'm happy with it. That's not the end of the story, however, because:

1. Your revised chunk must fit with what came before and what comes after. You may therefore have to adjust your transitions into and out of the revised chunk.

2. Any major reworking of the chunk may force you to intensively rework other areas in order to meet new standards you've set, or new information you've uncovered.

What editing in chunks invariably does is improve the product you're putting out. As important is the psychological benefit. It tells you that the revision is achievable within a reasonable time frame. It gives you a sense of completion. For the moment you know you don't have to go any further, and that can be pretty satisfying.

Neil Sawers develops books and e-books to help entrepreneurs, small business and students write more easily and effectively. Visit us at http://www.how-to-write-proposals.com and download our free chapter on The Discovery Process. You'll find key tools and concepts to help you put out winning proposals.

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