Diagnose and correct recurring grammar and mechanics errors in the draft, with particular attention to consistent past tense and run-on sentences.
An "edit clinic" is diagnosis, not just correction: rather than randomly fixing whatever gets noticed, this week identifies the one or two error patterns that show up again and again in a piece -- consistently slipping into present tense, or consistently writing comma splices -- and targets those patterns specifically, since fixing the pattern fixes many errors at once.
Two narrative-specific trouble spots deserve focus: consistent past tense (historical fiction is almost always told in past tense, and slipping into present tense mid-scene is a common, distracting error) and run-on sentences or comma splices, which tend to multiply in tense, fast-moving action scenes where a writer's thoughts outrun their punctuation.
Mastery looks like: They identify one or two recurring error patterns in their own writing, such as tense inconsistency or comma splices, and correct every instance of that pattern throughout the draft.
Common stumbles: Fixing only the first example of an error and missing repeated instances of the same pattern; correcting errors at random without noticing they form a pattern worth targeting.
See it visually
Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.