Writing Wednesday: Editing Tips

I can't believe it's almost the end of September already! Time flies when you're busy. Speaking of which, I have exams this week, so I don't have as much time to write and blog as I would like. That being said, today's post is quick and to the point.

Some tips to keep in mind when Editing:

• If possible, give yourself some time between drafts. A fresh pair of eyes are always strongest. 
• Pay attention to grammar. In other words, make sure it "sounds natural." Try reading it out loud, printing it out, or changing the font so it looks different. 
• If you see/hear a word to often, try to vary it with something else that means the same thing, or vary the sentence structure. (For example, a lot of times it's hard to write in first person with out starting with "I" a lot," you can very this by changing phrases like "I twirled my ring" to something like "Twirling my ring around my finger...")
• Pay attention to transitions. If something seems jarring or confusing, chances are the transition needs to be a little smoother.
• Always have someone else read over your work. It's hard to catch things that are missing when you know the whole story- you might know the main character is a female, for example, but if you forgot to mention that, it wont effect your reading of the story as it would someone else who assumes she is a boy. 

Any other advice? Anything you usually have trouble with?