2. Editing: “Cut” + “Add” for Simplicity

Next, about “editing.” As mentioned in the structure section, writing with a story flow does create vivid articles. But on the other hand, writing every single step can make the text drag on and feel tedious.

If you write in a rambling way, readers get bored and stop reading eventually (unless they’re die-hard fans). Also, awkward Japanese or unclear writing causes stress for readers.

To reduce these issues, I reread the article and cut or add text during editing. For me, the ratio of “structure to editing per article is roughly 2:8.”

Writing the first draft is relatively quick, but the detailed “editing” takes a lot of time.

① Cut Unnecessary Text

Personally, I find writing where scenes switch quickly and smoothly easier to understand and read. So if I feel like I’m dwelling on the same scene for too long, I cut that part out completely.

I mentioned the 2:8 ratio earlier, but if I put too much effort into structure and write seriously from the start, I feel “it’s a shame to delete all that hard work” and end up not cutting anything.

Considering that, I feel 2:8 is the best balance for me.

② Make Sentences Short and Polished

Next is polishing the sentences and Japanese. Here, I focus on “making each sentence short.” Though ironically, my sentences often end up long anyway (-_-).

My goal is to keep sentences short and simple for easy reading.

Regarding “polishing the Japanese,” I don’t read many books, so I’m not really sure what “beautiful Japanese” is. So at least I try to write in “written language rather than spoken language,” (for example, changing “…っていう” to “…という”).

That said, sometimes writing in spoken language keeps the tone friendly and relatable. So, “I personally prefer writing in formal written language, but that’s just my choice.”

③ Adjust Adverb Placement and Add Subjects

Next, I check if adverbs like “very” or “sometimes” are placed before the words I want to emphasize. For example,

“I very was impressed by this car” feels less clear than “I was very impressed by this car.”

It’s a tiny detail, but it makes a difference (-_-).

Also, if a sentence is missing a subject, I add it. Sometimes it’s obvious, but sentences that don’t clearly say “who” or “what” cause stress for readers, so I pay attention to that in editing.

④ Insert Paragraph Breaks

Even if sentences are short and easy to read, if you write a long block of text without paragraph breaks, people lose the will to read at a glance.

At least for someone like me who struggles with dense text (lol).

So I make sure to break up paragraphs at key points to make it visually easier to read.

⑤ Check for Typos and Errors

Finally, I read through once more to check for “anything that feels off or any typos.” But even after careful checking, I often find typos after the article is published, and then I rush to fix them.

…That’s probably the main points I keep in mind when writing articles.

I Want to Write Even Better Articles

I might sound a bit full of myself writing all this, but there are plenty of articles where I don’t follow these rules, so writing this made me realize “I’m really putting a lot of pressure on myself” (-_-).

This isn’t the perfect way to write, and I want to write more fun and clear articles. To improve quality, I think the only way is to write a lot, so I’ll keep writing each article carefully from now on.