Every time you talk of a character being "sad" or "happy," or even "miserable" or "ecstatic," cut it. Chop it right out; you don't need it. It's not driving your story ahead or giving it any momentum. These things can and should be made clear in other ways. Unless it's in dialogue, it needs to be scrapped. In other words, another character could ask, "Why are you so sad?" but the character at hand would never explore their world confined by the titles given to emotions. After all, "sad" or "miserable" are just words. If we called them "gobbledegook," it'd mean the same thing. These terms have no resonance emotionally. Even "she glanced over and grinned," is a good start for your first draft. Anything that moves away from, "she was happy" is a step in the right direction. This will evolve and grow over the course of your writing; right now, you just need something to hold it together. This is just laying the foundation of your story. Its purpose is just to be cohesive and hold the story together. You'll change everything later once you have the story pieced together. Why did she glance over and grin? What was she thinking to herself? Was she thinking that the boy in the corner was kind of cute? Did he remind her of anyone? What was the motivation for the emotion? Explore the techniques discussed above. Painting an image through dialogue, subtext, body language, and the senses will create a 360-degree picture for your audience to feel fully engrossed in the story. Instead of "she was happy," your audience will actually know how she feels. They won't drive your story forward -- they're too trite to do so. Few things are less communicative than "I was so happy I could die" or "I felt my world falling apart." If your character's that happy, have her spontaneously hug someone and then laugh aloud. If you were that upset, say what happened. People can understand the emotional impact of any major event; if you describe it, they'll know what it does to the people involved. Never end a clear, intimate description of an emotional event with a cliche. If you've done the job of communicating the emotions, you've done it. Don't feel the need to summarize. Stay in character. The personality you're working with may be the cliche type just don't end it how it normally ends. The terrible thing about cliches is that people don't actually say them when they're being genuine. But after explaining how your character feels and after her spontaneous hug, if it's in her personality, have her say, "I'm so happy I could just poop a rainbow!" It may be fitting. But again, only if she's that type. Be as graphic or tactful as the rest of your piece is. Use metaphors and images that fit thematically with the content, and make sure (especially in first-person) the language and images you use fit the character(s). No talk of velocities or crossed wires in the Old West! If you're speaking, be as frank or vague as your companions make you feel. Not only should you keep the character in mind, but the keep the character in that specific situation in mind. There may be outside factors that are affecting their judgment, senses, and even ability to react, think, or process emotion. Spend some time listening to music, reading poetry, or reading stories of authors that write on similar themes. When you're immersed in the emotion, go back and read your story. Does feel aligned with how you were feeling? Are there any incongruencies? Does anything strike you as disingenuous? If so, scratch it and get back to the drawing board. If a particular emotion is eluding you, give yourself time. The next time you run into that emotion, bust out your notebook and take note of your senses, thoughts, and body. This will get you as close as possible to the truth of this emotion. Nothing is better than first-hand experience. From there, your story will write itself.

Summary: Go through and cut every time you name an emotion. For your first draft, replace it with a simple action or image. For your second draft, get more detailed. Avoid cliches and stock phrases. Stay appropriate. When you're nearly finished, tune into the emotion you're writing about.

Before you start the detailed work of copy editing, familiarize yourself with the content, tone, and formatting of the entire text. This will help satisfy your curiosity as to what the text is about, and will familiarize you with the author's writing ability and style. Make sure that you understand the goal or objective of the piece as well. If you're editing a long text (say, over 30 pages), you may need to skim a chapter or section at a time. If you're copy editing your own text, you can probably skip this step. Spelling errors crop up in every text, and it's mostly up to copy editors to catch and correct them. Also, correct words that, while not misspelled, are incorrectly used. For example, if an author meant to write "thorough" but instead wrote "through," change the incorrect word. If you're editing with a word processing software, it will catch many errors for you. Keep your eyes open for spelling mistakes still, though, since digital spell checkers aren't perfect and can't edit based on context. As you edit the copy, make sure that it follows correct grammar rules. Correct any ambiguous or incorrect grammar. While an author may perceive these edits as superficial, correct grammar is integral to the meaning and structure of good copy. If you're unsure if a specific instance of grammar is correct or not, consult your style guide. Grammar errors that you should spot and correct include: Subject-verb disagreement. Dangling or misplaced modifiers. Inconsistencies in verb tense. You'll need to refer to a style guide or grammar manual, which explains correct punctuation usage and rules. Edit the text so that all punctuation adds to the clarity and readability of the copy. An important part of this step is to make sure that authors use commas correctly. For example, an inexperienced author may place a period or comma outside of quotation marks. Fix any misused em- or en-dashes, or hyphens. Authors who are deeply entrenched in their fields often forget that lay readers will be unfamiliar with many common abbreviations and acronyms. This is especially prevalent in scientific or technical writing. Catch these missing definitions and insert them. Acronyms should be defined at the first usage. For example, USGS should be defined as or "the U.S. Geological Survey." Units of measure should also be define. For example, if you're editing a paper on hydrology, "ppm" should be defined as "parts per million" when first used. Common measurements like "cm" may not need to be defined. Consult your style guide to find out.
Summary: Skim the entire copy before you begin editing. Correct spelling mistakes and word usage. Correct grammar errors. Search for and fix any errors in punctuation. Make sure that all abbreviations are defined.