Discover five practical line editing strategies that sharpen your prose, strengthen emotional clarity, and make each sentence more purposeful on the page.
Line editing can feel intimidating, especially if you're not sure where to begin or how to make meaningful improvements at the sentence level. And if you've ever tried refining lines before your scenes are clear and working, you know how frustrating the process can be.
In today’s episode, I’m joined by three brilliant book coaches and editors: Karyn Fischer, Alice Sudlow, and Julie Artz, who work with writers every day to help them strengthen their line-level craft. Along with their best tips, I’m also sharing two of my own favorite strategies so you can approach line editing without feeling overwhelmed or unsure of where to start.
Here's what we talk about:
[03:00] Learn how dynamic verbs instantly energize your prose and why swapping out static wording is one of the fastest line editing wins.
[07:14] See how a simple clarity–flow–refinement order keeps your line edits focused and prevents the overwhelm that stops many writers in revision.
[11:40] Learn why understanding the true purpose of your scenes helps you make clearer sentence-level decisions.
[15:41] Explore how short, long, and mixed-length sentences shape pacing, emotion, and rhythm so your prose feels intentional instead of flat or repetitive.
[19:28] Five practical line editing tools, from reading aloud to spotting junk words, that help you tighten and strengthen your manuscript.
Whether you're revising a first draft or doing late-stage editing, these five tips will help you make intentional, powerful choices on every page.
🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:
⭐ Follow & Review
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week!
Support the show
👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.
