I have no idea how to edit.

I don't know how to not edit. I can read my work and be like, "Ugh." I just mess around with sentence structure until I like it. Sometimes I switch out some synonyms, especially if I catch some repetitive words. Or trim it down if I have unnecessary words, especially filtering.

A tip that might help you find what needs fixing is to read it out loud. This can help you find rhythm problems.

However many people are here, that's how many ways you'll be told of to edit. Take what's useful, and discard the rest.

In edit, I often find myself sorting when I look at paragraphs. What I mean is that sentences show up a bit out of order, so the flow is discordant. It isn't unintelligible, it's just not smooth. For me, it takes reading, and rereading the work many times to find most of them (I'm probably not catching them all). As I read something will seem 'off', when I figure out what it is, it's usually a sorting issue.

One really nifty thing is if you have the latest MS Word you can play back what you have written with text to speech. It's not perfect but it really allows you to see where the mistakes and clunky sentences are.

Ravioli said:

Take breaks to look at your manuscript with fresh eyes every time you go through it.

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ikennedy said:

There's excellent advice here. I'll try to add something from how I edit.

After writing I find it helpful to leave the manuscript aside for a while so that when I return I can see it "fresh" and pick up more errors. In this time I might write something else.

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I feel like this is a huge thing, for me at least. Trying to edit too close to the completion of the story makes it easy to read what you meant to write, rather than what you actually did write. Some people excel at immediate editing anyway, but if you're fresh to editing, that space is incredibly helpful.

I create a cutting room floor file for each project so I can be vicious with my editing but know it's still there if i want it back. If there is any scene that is not absolutely critical to moving the scene forward, highlight it for the hatchet. Read it without, and then you'll know if you need it. And there is this great tiny book, the elements of style which I think is a must have.