Hey there, Arrowheads! It’s been a little over three months since I last updated y’all on the progress of editing my next release, On the Flip Side, but the manuscript has come a long way since then. Buckle up for a quick recap of all the novel has been through since December!

If you would like to recap on the previous Editing Diaries entries for On the Flip Side, you can read them here:

• Editing Diaries: On the Flip Side (Episode 1)
• Editing Diaries: On the Flip Side (Episode 2)
• Editing Diaries: On the Flip Side (Episode 3)
• Editing Diaries: On the Flip Side (Episode 4)

January – February 2026: Another Kindle Read-Through

Remember how I said in my last Editing Diaries update that I wanted to start the Word Search Edit round (aka cutting out excessive crutch words) when I was off work around Christmas? Yeah, that didn’t happen…

But, during the last couple weeks of January, I decided to do another read-through of On the Flip Side on my Kindle. This round went well, and aside from adding a little more to a couple chapters to fix small plot holes, nothing major needed to be fixed.

March – April 2026 (Hopefully It Won’t Last Longer Than That…): The Word Search Edit

On February 28th, for whatever reason, the mood struck me to finally begin the Word Search Edit phase for the manuscript. If you’re not familiar with my method of doing this, I have a list of crutch words, filler words, adverbs, and common typos that I go through and trim from the manuscript. As of mid-March, I’ve completed 29 searches on the list out of 111 words/phrases to search for. This doesn’t seem like a lot, and it isn’t, because I’ve only been able to sit down and complete two sessions of this monstrosity so far; however, I plan to do another session today (the Saturday before this post goes live). Some words/phrases have more instances than others, so it won’t take me long to get through those. Others may take hours, so that’s why I’m hoping and praying I can finish this round by the end of April. Maybe now that things have somewhat settled down in my personal life, I’ll be able to knock most of the list out throughout the next few weeks!

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

I’m both sorry and not sorry that this wasn’t the most interesting Editing Diaries post, but part of me is glad that working on the manuscript over the past three months has been “boring”, since it means there haven’t been any major issues to tackle. 😛

If you’re a writer, what are your most commonly used crutch words or phrases in your manuscript? Let me know in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀