“How do you end a story that’s not yours? Add another sentence where there is a pause? Infiltrate the story with a comma when really there should have been a period? Punctuate with an exclamation point where a period would have sufficed? What if you kill something breathing and breathe life into something the author wanted to eliminate? How do you get inside the mind of a person who isn’t there? Fill the shoes of someone who will never again fill his own?” ~ Shaila Abdullah
Writing and Editing, 53
“The first draft reveals the art; revision reveals the artist.” ~ Michael Lee
Writing and Editing Fiction
“The trouble is, very few people, even in the least provincial communities, seem to understand that the motive for fiction, or the impulse from which it arises, is a serious one. They think of fiction as having no value except that of amusing and passing the time; and so it is impossible for them to understand why it could not just as well be pleasant and pretty.” ~ Maxwell E. Perkins
The First Draft
The first draft is black and white. Editing gives the story color. ~ Emma Hill
An Editor or a Writer?
I seem not to be able to read for pleasure anymore. While supposedly doing some pleasure reading, I find myself in the editor’s chair. However, when I am writing, that editor takes a vacation, leaving me stranded.
From NY Book Editors
With this post, I only intend to provide a link to another professional site when the process of self-editing is concerned. As a seasoned editor and writer, I still find information of this nature helpful – however many times it may appear to have been repeated.
Writing and Editing, 52
“There is nothing more refreshing for an editor than to meet a writer or read a query that takes him completely by surprise” ~ Betsy Lerner
The Art of Writing and Self-Editing
“By far, the hardest part regarding a work of art, apart from the start, is knowing precisely when to stop . . . It’s growing up, finding that most glowing and top spot, ascending to where its highest peak is reached . . . before descending for the deepest, darkest drop.” ~ Criss Jami
Rewriting . . .
“Learn to enjoy this tidying process. I don’t like to write; I like to have written. But I love to rewrite. I especially like to cut: to press the DELETE key and see an unnecessary word or phrase or sentence vanish into the electricity. I like to replace a humdrum word with one that has more precision or color. I like to strengthen the transition between one sentence and another. I like to rephrase a drab sentence to give it a more pleasing rhythm or a more graceful musical line. With every small refinement I feel that I’m coming nearer to where I would like to arrive, and when I finally get there I know it was the rewriting, not the writing, that won the game.”
Editing Fictional Work
Editing fiction is like using your fingers to untangle the hair of someone you love. ~ Stephanie Roberts