Tips for Writers
Man, I love the smell coffee in the morning. But I didn’t always. I started drinking it because of what it could do for me–keep me alert during my first year of college. But then I gradually learned to love it. It was an acquired taste.
And so was editing. Few budding writers love editing. Instead, many fantasize that, like Athena springing full-grown from the head of Zeus, flawless masterpieces will spring from their fingers. But Athena is a myth. And so are perfect first drafts. Once I came to appreciate what editing could do for me, I ended up loving it almost as much as I love coffee.
In clay modeling, you start with a lump, from which you shape a rough version of the image in your mind: wide-set eyes, hollow cheeks, hawk-like nose. Then you begin altering what you’ve created (moving the eyes further apart), removing what doesn’t belong (hollowing out those cheeks), and adding what does (building up the bridge of the nose).
Editing is the same:
- First Draft – How rough is a first draft? That varies from writer to writer. Many barrel through, quickly shaping the lump (NaNoWriMo, anyone?). There’s a reason some call it a “vomit draft.” I prefer to edit yesterday’s work before continuing, even though I may later delete the whole passage. Why? Because it gets me back into the rhythm, takes me “there” again. But either way works. What matters is that you keep going!
- Second Draft – There’s little point in reading straight through the first draft of a full-length work. Typos, awkward phrases and clunky metaphors cry out for mercy. I’m reminded of the half-human clone in Alien 3 begging Ripley to “Kill me!” So go ahead, kill it! (But save the draft for reference.) Move the eyes. Hollow out the cheeks. Enlarge the nose. Be ruthless!
- Third Draft – Now you can start focusing on structure and flow. Are there missing sections (needed backstory, cutaways to what’s happening elsewhere)? Are there unnecessary or overwritten passages that slow the narrative drive? If you Outlined your work beforehand (the best way to develop the structure), review it. Have you veered away from it? Or does the Outline itself need reworking, which, when revised, will serve as a guide for your new draft?
At this point, your objectivity will go MIA. That’s when it’s time to call in the special ops team, the Alpha Readers, the first people you allow to see your baby. Find readers whose opinions you value—writers group members, bloggers you admire, strangers in bars.*
And then you wait.
And wait.
When you finally get their comments, you will:
- Seethe at their stupid, wrong-headed suggestions!
- And then slowly begin to realize some of them may be right.
That’s when, armed with the comments you’ve discovered actually make pretty good sense, you’ll begin your next draft. And, who knows, you may even end up saying,
Man, I love the smell of editing in the morning.
*Note: Never submit this draft or, God forbid, an even earlier one, to an agent or publisher!
Your closing sentence – loved it. Were you in a helicopter ? They all use jealous when envious is proper. They do not know how to use well or good. We all, including myself, should forget about the semicolon and just start a new sentence. The most sensible thing I do when proof reading is let someone else read my essays. Often our mind sees what the text is supposed to be and not what we have written.
Exactly, Carl.
You’re so right. I’ve come to love the editing process. Blogging helped with that. I’ve seen how my pieces have changed in time (for the better), when I’ve created them in advance and given them numerous edits. A great editor/proofreader is an amazing thing. They have a way of making copy sing.
Right you are, Brian.
Your post has come at the right time for me.
Please advise…
I am on my 5th draft of my book/memoir.
You say not to submit to an agent or publisher. I can understand that, but where would I go from here.
I’m a total novice, so I’m interested in your thoughts.
Thank you!
Hi Sara. If you’re not sure whether your book is ready to submit, that’s a good time to seek objective feedback. I’ve asked writers I admire, including some WordPress blogger friends, to be alpha readers, and found their responses quite helpful. There are also professionals who read and edit for a living.
Hi Mitch. Yes, I definitely need objective feedback now. I know it’s certainly not ready to submit, and I fully expect it to be ripped apart!
I suppose I’m a little nervous, it’s not only personal, but it’s quite graphic and hard hitting. Maybe not a read for some people.
Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate your valued advice.
My privilege, Sara.
Thank you!
During his deployment in Iraq 20 years ago, my son had a special job on occasion–going out to the desert and burning human waste. He wrote in a letter: I love the smell of burning feces in the morning.
Isn’t cultural literacy great?
;>)
Tell us this more often, Mitch. It’s spot on.
Personally, I keep forgetting to do enough editing before submitting wherever… Let enough time pass between two edits etc..
I understand, Maria. I think the more you write, edit, and submit, the more aware you become of where you’re at in the process.
I’m ready for the sculpting part on my WIP, praying I can remember the big picture at the same time!
As an editor and proofreader, I agree!
I enjoy editing and perfecting my own and my clients’ writing. I think I am a better editor than a writer. It’s like turning a crust-covered diamond right out of the mine into a perfectly-shaped, polished, gleaming gem! MY problem is to stop tinkering with it when it is polished. Never “good enough” for me.
I know what you mean, Caroll! I was teaching a filmmaking class some years back, and we had a major Hollywood studio producer as our guest speaker. One of the students asked, “When do you know the film is finished?” And he replied, “When you have to deliver it to the theaters.” It’s the same in the publishing world.
I gave up on my own creative writing a long time ago and channeled my passion as a “word nerd” into editing and proofing the work of others. We are a barely tolerated and much-maligned group. Many writers take editorial corrections personally (loved what you wrote about receiving alpha readers’ comments). Once they’ve had a chance to cool down a bit and look analytically at the edits, these writers usually come around to feeling grateful for the corrections. All we’re trying to do is make all y’alls (I get to stretch grammatical bounds every once in a while) look good! 🙂
And bless you many times over for that, Sandy!
I’ve never understood why authors want to argue with their editors. Why invest all that money if it is not to make your MS the best version it can be? And if an editor makes a suggestion that is off the mark, then the process of defending your position (in your mind) usually leads to rewriting the section to make the point stronger or clearer. So it’s a win in any case.
Because they want to mutilate our child, Gwen! Or so it feels when we get their notes. Nevertheless, you make a very good point.
Haha. I guess I take the attitude that it takes a village to raise a child. But I don’t just roll over and play dead. For example, my editor was scathing about how one of my characters died. ‘Why did you give her such a ghastly death?’ she wrote in her report.
‘Umm – because that’s really how she died,’ didn’t exactly cut it with the editor, because this was supposed to be fiction. She wanted me to let the character live but I stood firm. ‘She must die!’ (queue laughing maniacally). I’m still working on a kinder way to make that happen 🙂
Good example of something I’ve seen many times: a passage that belongs there, but needs reframing. There’s a moment in my Healing River novel in which a runaway foster kid rolls a wino for his cash. An editor thought it should be cut, but I thought it was important. So I had the kid see his reflection in a broken storefront window, and then put back some of the wino’s money.
Ah! The redemptive approach. Sounds good!
Would love to hear more about your writing process, Mitch. Do you try to write everyday?
Yes, I do, Sarah.
Here’s a question for you: have you ever felt your entire structure of your story collapsing under the pressure of your edits? That’s a challenge that I haven’t been able to overcome yet. To use your clay analogy, I carve away at the face, trying to take it from vague lump to beautiful details…just to have the entire head break off in my hands!
“Entire structure?” Not sure, Abe. I’ve trimmed away too much at times, and sensed as I read through it that I was rushing ahead, summarizing rather than staying in real time. More often, though, I’ve done the opposite, i.e. wandered away from the road (Outline) and gotten lost in the forest (tangents) beside the road. In those cases, I’ve had to ask, “What’s going on here? Are these details (setting, character’s feelings, actions, etc.) contributing to the narrative drive, or distracting from it?”
Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, Abe!
Timely…and terrific! Thank you, Mitch! 🥰
My pleasure, Vicki!
🥰❤️🥰
Very useful blog post. Thank you!
My pleasure!
Good advice, Mitch! Thanks! 👍
Great suggestions, Mitch. Enjoy smelling your cup of joe. 🙂
Thanks, Nancy, you too.
HA HA. The “smell” of editing. You gotta embrace it if you plan to publish! FUn post.
Thanks, Carol.
Great advice, Mitch. For writers like me, you might want to add: Stop playing so much computer solitaire!
;>)
Nice callback to Apocalypse Now, Mitch.
I, too, edit today what I wrote yesterday…or, often, what I wrote last week. I don’t do “vomit drafts.” I am too much of a perfectionist to bull through an entire first draft without (a) editing and (b) asking a Beta Reader to go through new chapters before moving on to the next.
I too love editing! Syntax, weasel words and a better piece always results. Usually takes at least three, I let it sit at my web site for a year or so and edit and gest better.
Like a fine wine.
I remember when I read Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ years ago, I realized that I needed to apply it to my job. I’m not a writer in the sense of literature Much of my time was spent translating technical specifications into procedures and techniques. I had to create techniques the average person could understand and follow.
As King suggested, I eliminated unnecessary phrases and tried to keep the language simple. Some of the specifications had been written by people who had never actually performed the work, so making the techniques understandable and worded simply enough was important.
Lots of great suggestions here, though I’m not in love with your definition of the first draft. I am somewhat convinced that editing is God’s tool for working humility into the hearts of writers. Thanks Mitch.
You may be right, Pete.
I found some great advice here. Thank you so much for taking the time to share. ✍️
My pleasure, Chuckster.
You are right, Mitch, of course. Many famous works could have stood judicious editing. Typically, I post much less than I have drafted and even then. Editing is a virtue, isn’t it? Thanks for bringing this out.–Christopher
My pleasure, Christopher.
http://dwayneadventurescom.wordpress.com
I always loved editing. My first drafts are vomit drafts and I might change everything from point of view to structure as I go. And I might have as many as four-five drafts. Editing is fun for me. I hate that first draft with a passion. And if I had to go with that, Jack Kerouac style, I’d quit. 🙂
Me too, Lynn.
Rightly related and rightly interpreted. A very interesting read, Mitch.
Glad you found it useful, my friend.
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