[Ep 192] “I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.” Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory1 First Drafts Reveal What You Want to Say We’ve already covered the power of writing to discover what we want to say. We can do that with freewriting to discover our initial ideas, writing in our journals or as a … [Read more...]
Ep 140: Listen for the Music – More Self-Editing Tips from ‘The Artful Edit’
In her book The Artful Edit, Susan Bell says editing “involves a deep, long meditation within which the editor or self-editor listens to every last sound the prose before him makes, then separates the music from the noise" (5). We talked last time about the need to listen—we even explored ways to do so. Now we’re taking it to a more intense level involving "a deep, long … [Read more...]
Ep 139: Tips on Self Editing from The Artful Edit
Recently I plucked from the shelf The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself, by Susan Bell. Already I can tell that Susan Bell's approach to editing has less to do with comma-spotting and more to do with staying attentive and open to more important matters: ponder the piece to comprehend its purpose and meaning; listen to determine the pace and sound of the … [Read more...]
Writing and Editing: Handle Words with Respect
I've been writing and editing for decades, starting in my college years when I signed up for poetry classes that often "workshopped" assignments. Writing and Editing Workshops We'd turn in a poem to the teacher, who collected them all and passed out copies for us to read and annotate so we could offer our peers helpful input. On the day of the workshop, we critiqued the … [Read more...]
“What is X doing for this piece?”
Because I signed up for the nonfiction track of the Laity Lodge writers retreat, I was required to submit in advance ten pages of "spiritual nonfiction." The workshop format meant that each person would receive a copy of every other participant's ten-page submission to evaluate and critique. I can't reveal details of our sessions, because in order to build trust and … [Read more...]
