Color Coding

One of the hardest parts of editing is creating as much distance as possible between you as writer and you as editor. Here's a technique to more objectively illuminate what’s working and what's not.

Choose a manageable passage. Grab some highlighters or jot quick notes in the margins as you read through.

• Use green to mark exposition—those sections where you’re filling in the story, delivering information, or world building.

• If something unfolds through dialogue or quoted speech, hit it with blue.

• For reflection — whether it’s a character’s thoughts, personal musings, or a section of analysis — yellow.

• Use pink for action or movement — like a character making a dramatic exit, a sequence of events in narrative nonfiction, or steps in reported work.

• Orange is for sensory detail and description.

The colors are not the point. Use whatever color you want! These are the highlighter colors I have. You may have others. It's ok, I promise.

Not sure what something is? Skip and come back.

A portion might fit into more than one category? Skip and come back.

After thorough analysis, if you really can't decide between categories, you can use multiple colors. But caution: make sure it honestly fits into multiples and you're not just wanting to be done with the exercise. (See instruction #1: choose a manageable passage.")

Once you’ve marked everything, take a step back.

Does your draft lean more on one element than another? Does that feel intentional? A dialogue-heavy piece might speed things up, while a reflection-driven essay might slow the pace and create space for insight.

Look at how these elements flow together — do shifts between narrative and reflection feel smooth, or are they creating awkward stops/starts like I did when I tried to learn how to drive a stick shift?

Don't worry: this process isn’t driving you toward balance. Instead, you'll get a close, objective look at whether your writing matches your intention.

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