Power Your Book Revisions by Using Macros

Posted on by Raymond Esposito

Revisions are a critical step in the writing process, but let’s face it, they can also just suck all the joy out of writing. Anything that can help speed up the process and increase focus is a good thing.

One of my favorite tools is Macros.

Unfortunately, like many writers, I was a master of words but never really mastered Word. I’ve wasted a lot of time doing things the long way.

A few years ago, however, I discovered Macros and they changed the speed, focus, and effectiveness of my revision process.

In short, I’m a better writer because of them.

Now before you start to think I’m gonna unload some complicated programming How-To on you and zone out, be assured I’m not.

A Macro is a simple program script that tells your Word Document to do “something.” In our case, it’s going to highlight words that we should consider exchanging with better words.

The revision problems writers often experience is the challenge of going through and identifying issues when dealing with seventy, eighty, or a hundred thousands words.

A macro helps identify all the words you should focus on – things like needless words, passive verbs, and words that tell but don’t show.

By highlighting these things we can get a larger view of problematic areas, work on sentences that need work, replace weak verbs with strong ones, and be certain we’ve identified them all.

The problem, of course, is we are writers and not programmers.

But we’ve got a solution.

Writers After Dark has created a short video to show you exactly how these macros function in Word. How to add and use them. And best of all, we have a free download cheat sheet that contains the four most essential written scripts to add to your Word program.

So all you need to do is download the cheat sheet here. And then watch the instructional video. And if you have any questions, just leave them in the comment section or email us at WritersAfterDark@gmail.com

Hope you enjoy and, I promise, these Macros will take your revisions to the next level.

Published by Raymond Esposito

Raymond Esposito is an award-winning dark fiction author and Amazon bestseller. His articles and interviews have appeared in a variety of publications including Family Circle and Sanitarium Magazine. He has a degree in Cognitive Psychology and has spent over 28 years as a criminal behaviorist.

12 thoughts on “Power Your Book Revisions by Using Macros”

  1. Excellent! You should teach, Raymond. This is so much easier and faster than the initial way I was taught. Thanks! 😉👍

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  3. That had to be one the most helpful tips that I have never heard before. You guys have come so far. Proud of you. You give me hope in my own writing. Heck, I remember the first After Dark video. You have grown by leaps in bounds compared to the early days. I agree Raymond with the above you would make a good teacher. That video tutorial was well done and you have the voice for it. Great info and tip.
    ‘ Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit

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    1. Thanks Juneta. And yes, we’re getting there. And even we laugh and cringe a bit. I’m saving our very first video, which we never released…oh it is so bad it is good lol. But we approach Writers After Dark like we approach writing – you try, you get a little better, you try again.

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    1. Thanks – It’s the same basic foundation you find in Prowriting Aid and Grammarly, of course, their “code” is probably pages long. There are hundreds more of these prewritten macros available for free, but if you want to go beyond the basics then it’s worth the $40 to simply buy one of the great programs out there. My concern and I’m an avid Grammarly user, is you can really get sucked into the analysis paralysis with programs and sometimes, while their suggestions are valid, they aren’t good for the writing effect you may be looking for in a particular sentence.

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