Class 20 - Thinking About Editing

Today’s session

In today’s session, we’re going to be talking about editing.

For the reading, we looked at an editor’s eye view of book proposals. These are different from pitches for nonfiction articles, but the principle underlying the reading is one that you need to bear in mind when you write and edit pitches, as well as when you come to edit your work. The principle is this: you need to think about your audience. Writing is about communicating with an audience, and so getting into the habit of thinking “how will my audience see this?” will help.

An editor is like a bridge between you and the audience, pointing out things that can help you make those connections, when the connections are not clear.

Breakout Groups

First, I’ll put you into breakout groups, and get you to discuss the reading, and see if there are any questions.

On Editing

So let’s talk about editing. There are a few things to remember about editing. Editing is:

• Essential: you will need to edit, and repeatedly, to turn your raw material into a finished piece.
• Not a sign of the writer’s initial failure: writing is a process of writing and rewriting. We shouldn’t see the need to edit as a sign of initial failure. It takes time to shape ideas and words into something worth reading.
• Invisible in the final product: You can’t tell when you read a final piece if it has been edited 10 or 100 times. But you can tell if it hasn’t been edited at all!
• Most of what you do as a writer: I estimate that I spend 90% of my writing time editing.
• Collaborative: Writers work in community with others — peers, editors, agents, beta readers — to edit their work.
• A bridge between the author and the audience: we start with something we want to say in our first draft, but the work of building a bridge to our audience, finding how to say it in a way that is powerful, direct and compelling, takes a lot of editing.
• Creative: creativity doesn’t stop after the first draft. Editing is an intensely creative process, involving problem solving, imagination, boldness, and the ability to switch focus from big issues to small issues, and back again.

The other important thing about editing is that it involves three things:

• Adding stuff
• Taking stuff out
• Moving stuff around

Getting Practical

A lot of the questions you need to ask as an editor are intensely practical. And the way you edit may depend on the writing. But here are four things to think about when editing work:

Logic

The story needs to make sense. Be clear about what is happening and why it is happening. Think about people’s behaviour and if it is credible.

Precision

Use simple, clear and precise language. Don’t use overcomplicated or long words where a simple one will do.

Emotional weight

However small or large the events you are writing about, there needs to be a sense of how they matter, what they mean, and how they affect people. The writing should make the reader feel something and make them care about what is happening.

Clarity

The scenes in the story should be clearly and vividly written.

Questions for Editors

Every piece of writing is different. But here are some questions editors might ask:

• Willl the reader understand what is happening?
• Will the reader know who everyone is?
• Will the reader understand where everybody is?
• Will the reader understand why things are happening?
• If somebody is talking, is this how people actually speak?
• Is the information given necessary to the story?
• Are the sentences clear and precise?
• Are there any digressions, or parts of the story that are not relevant?
• What can be cut out without any loss?
• What absolutely needs to be added for the writing to make sense?

Self-Editing Exercise

First, I want you to choose an extract from one piece that you have worked on during this course. It can be any piece of writing. The extract should not be more than a page long.

Now think about the following

• What do I need to add to improve this writing?
• What do I need to remove to improve this writing?
• What do I need to move around to improve this writing?

Now edit this extract as boldly as possible. Move things around, cut things out, add things. Keep your audience in mind. You have 10 minutes!

Other-Editing Exercise

For this next exercise, I’m going to put you into breakout groups of two. But don’t enter the breakout groups! Just note down who your partner is.

Then share with your partner a copy of your piece of writing. You may need to paste it in a document and share. You have ten minutes to edit your partner’s piece.

Discussion

Now you have 10 minutes to discuss with your partners!

Assignment briefing

During the next session, I’ll give you the assignment briefing for the final assignment. Then the remainder of the sessions in this class will be dedicated to working with you on your final pieces of writing.