Reviser

A second proof is now taken which is put in the hands of another proof-reader (or "reviser") for revision. ❋ Various (N/A)

Rumsfeld is yet another Bush administration reviser of history. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Conceptual redundancy, however, requires both time for close reading of the entire manuscript and a retentive memory for a reviser to catch. ❋ Unknown (2010)

The second reason a savvy reviser might want to produce a character list is that, frankly, most aspiring writers harbor rather fuzzy notions of how many named characters populate their books. ❋ Unknown (2010)

All a savvy reviser can do is — speaking of concept repetition — re-read his submission or contest entry IN ITS ENTIRETY, IN HARD COPY, and OUT LOUD before allowing it to see the inside of a mailbox or hitting the SEND key. ❋ Unknown (2010)

As a reviser, you should constantly be asking yourself, Is this really the most effective way to convey this information? ❋ Unknown (2010)

How might a savvy reviser take this principle to heart? ❋ Unknown (2010)

Particularly if a reviser is editing for length: a paragraph or two of Hollywood narration can, after all, replace pages and pages of backstory. ❋ Unknown (2010)

The reviser could add some action to the opening — ideally, action that sets the tone for the scene to follow. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Okay, clap on your reading glasses and peruse the three widely disparate results conscientious reviser Noël might have produced in response to each of the marked-up pages above. ❋ Unknown (2010)

But where, if a savvy reviser had to choose, would the next level of revision start? ❋ Unknown (2010)

What should a reviser do when confronted with dialogue that does none of these things? ❋ Unknown (2010)

Similarly, anyway and however in dialogue are pretty reliable flares, indicating that the speaker has gotten off-topic and is trying to regain his point — thus warning the manuscript reviser that perhaps this dialogue could be tightened so that it stays on point. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Yes, oh groaners, your surmise is correct: I am indeed about to tell you that a savvy reviser should pay as much attention to word, phrase, and concept repetition in dialogue as in narrative paragraphs. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Even if that reviser happens to have been blessed with both, after slaving over a Frankenstein manuscript for months or years on end, repeated or largely similar snippets of dialogue, explanations, and even relatively important plot points can seem…well, if not precisely fresh, at least not memorable from earlier in the latest draft. ❋ Unknown (2010)