I remember in writing class, my professor said that the most difficult part of editing was distinguishing between good advice and *right* advice. Good advice often times means well, and is formally "correct" but right advice is actionable brings the writer closer to her intent. I think about this often, and this fabulous post reminds me of these wise words.
Mm, yes! Writing toward authorial intent (or authorial interest in the case of when we’re exploring and not sure of the end point) is IMO one of the most valuable ways to ground craft choices! Thanks for sharing!
The professor's example was also a non-fiction utilitarian one - to make a sale at a market. There, less is more, and clarity is king. Fiction serves a different purpose - to provide an experience for the reader or share a narrative message. They are very different types of writing. Glad to see the principle being applied and expand beyond what he taught! Looking forward to reading Ravashing. Thanks, Kat and Eshani!
This is so discussable! I came to my novel writing dream via a journalism track (to have, as my father advised, a trade to fall back on) with poetry writing on the side (because I was terrified of being unable to find enough words to convey novel-length ideas). So I learned to eschew emotion and to evoke emotion through imagery. I’m still catching up on sharing emotion in my characters’s voice. (Along with many other blind spots.) A favorite piece of writing advice that applies to editing is this: all your work is worthless if no one wants to read it. Vague, but helpful.
Hey Chris! Totally agree. The question of how to get the reader’s engagement and keep it is definitely one I also think about in revision. Sometimes it’s language that propels a reader… sometimes plot, sometimes characterization! I love that each reader can be interested by something different. At the same time since there are so many different reader tastes it feels important to me to find the aspect of the work I’m interested in and magnify that—and maybe then the worth is in the doing/experimenting… what do you think?
Oh, yes--readers come at the art from so many different places. Thinking about my revision in process, I'm digging deeper into my own passion. I think that's what you're saying about magnifying the aspect you're most interested in. As a yet-to-be-published-in-novel-form writer, I find that I am compelled to write this book all the way to the marrow. Because on examination, the last two (rejected) novels I completed were actually this same story, only shallower. I have to hope the big idea, fully exposed, will spark interest. It seems like until I get to the core, the concept won't allow me to move on.
Finding ways to convey emotion without didactically telling the reader how the protagonist feels is tough! I think imagery is a great avenue to explore and communicate emotion. I've been thinking about how I apply "all your work is worthless if no one wants to read it" to my own editing process. For me, when I get bored rereading a passage I wrote, that's usually a sign that no one else would want to read that passage. I'm curious about your process, Chris!
How do you apply this to your writing process? What makes you personally not want to read something? How do you fix those issues in revision?
Ugh, imposter syndrome strikes! *MY* process? I've adapted a bunch of my process from you! The final exam (also, mid-term, maybe three or four drafts in) for my own work is reading aloud. I always get bogged down, but it's an important exercise. Somewhere around the sixth draft, the story shifts from full-on earnestly trying too hard to self-aware humor. And this seventh draft I'm in, titled "FINAL DRAFT-revised," might be the one! It will need some weeks of rest, and then I'll see if I can read aloud all the way through.
What makes me not want to read? I find myself skimming beautiful description that sits on top of the story instead of blending into the narrative need.
I love what you said about beautiful description that doesn't blend into the narrative. Line level writing can be great and evocative, but if its not contributing to the urgency of the story, it can end up being quite boring.
So excited to hear about all the progress you've made since we last spoke. Resting sounds like a great plan. Sending you positive vibes for your next read aloud!
I remember in writing class, my professor said that the most difficult part of editing was distinguishing between good advice and *right* advice. Good advice often times means well, and is formally "correct" but right advice is actionable brings the writer closer to her intent. I think about this often, and this fabulous post reminds me of these wise words.
Mm, yes! Writing toward authorial intent (or authorial interest in the case of when we’re exploring and not sure of the end point) is IMO one of the most valuable ways to ground craft choices! Thanks for sharing!
LOVE this distinction between good advice and the right advice. Thanks so much for reading!
The professor's example was also a non-fiction utilitarian one - to make a sale at a market. There, less is more, and clarity is king. Fiction serves a different purpose - to provide an experience for the reader or share a narrative message. They are very different types of writing. Glad to see the principle being applied and expand beyond what he taught! Looking forward to reading Ravashing. Thanks, Kat and Eshani!
Context is everything. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Great point about audience and purpose!Thanks so much for reading.
This is so discussable! I came to my novel writing dream via a journalism track (to have, as my father advised, a trade to fall back on) with poetry writing on the side (because I was terrified of being unable to find enough words to convey novel-length ideas). So I learned to eschew emotion and to evoke emotion through imagery. I’m still catching up on sharing emotion in my characters’s voice. (Along with many other blind spots.) A favorite piece of writing advice that applies to editing is this: all your work is worthless if no one wants to read it. Vague, but helpful.
Hey Chris! Totally agree. The question of how to get the reader’s engagement and keep it is definitely one I also think about in revision. Sometimes it’s language that propels a reader… sometimes plot, sometimes characterization! I love that each reader can be interested by something different. At the same time since there are so many different reader tastes it feels important to me to find the aspect of the work I’m interested in and magnify that—and maybe then the worth is in the doing/experimenting… what do you think?
Oh, yes--readers come at the art from so many different places. Thinking about my revision in process, I'm digging deeper into my own passion. I think that's what you're saying about magnifying the aspect you're most interested in. As a yet-to-be-published-in-novel-form writer, I find that I am compelled to write this book all the way to the marrow. Because on examination, the last two (rejected) novels I completed were actually this same story, only shallower. I have to hope the big idea, fully exposed, will spark interest. It seems like until I get to the core, the concept won't allow me to move on.
Finding ways to convey emotion without didactically telling the reader how the protagonist feels is tough! I think imagery is a great avenue to explore and communicate emotion. I've been thinking about how I apply "all your work is worthless if no one wants to read it" to my own editing process. For me, when I get bored rereading a passage I wrote, that's usually a sign that no one else would want to read that passage. I'm curious about your process, Chris!
How do you apply this to your writing process? What makes you personally not want to read something? How do you fix those issues in revision?
Ugh, imposter syndrome strikes! *MY* process? I've adapted a bunch of my process from you! The final exam (also, mid-term, maybe three or four drafts in) for my own work is reading aloud. I always get bogged down, but it's an important exercise. Somewhere around the sixth draft, the story shifts from full-on earnestly trying too hard to self-aware humor. And this seventh draft I'm in, titled "FINAL DRAFT-revised," might be the one! It will need some weeks of rest, and then I'll see if I can read aloud all the way through.
What makes me not want to read? I find myself skimming beautiful description that sits on top of the story instead of blending into the narrative need.
Thank you for all the lessons!
I love what you said about beautiful description that doesn't blend into the narrative. Line level writing can be great and evocative, but if its not contributing to the urgency of the story, it can end up being quite boring.
So excited to hear about all the progress you've made since we last spoke. Resting sounds like a great plan. Sending you positive vibes for your next read aloud!