Some thoughts about weeds and words
I needed to do some weeding in the garden recently. Our rose bed was in danger of disappearing into a jungle of tangled weeds.
Weeding in the garden is so satisfying; in a very short space of time you can see the results of your labours. The garden bed looks much better very quickly. The plants you leave behind – presumably those you want to keep – give a huge sigh of relief. ‘There is a sun after all,’ they say. Weeding improves the garden.
Too often we allow words to grow like weeds in our writing. Many words creep in unannounced and unwanted. There is the danger that they can choke out the good words. At their worst they can rob the desirable words of all the necessary moisture and nutrients for growth. Your story can wilt and die.
Be ruthless. Pull out all unnecessary words. Edit relentlessly.
And your writing will be allowed to bloom into its full potential.
Good weeding – and good writing.
More about rewriting and editing a novel
2 Comments »25th September, 2009; Category: Master of Arts course, Novels, Writing a novel, Writing Hints
Writing a novel – a writer’s journal: part 20
Rewriting and editing: is there a difference?
There is a fine line between rewriting and editing. One of my lecturers is quite adamant that there is a huge difference. I see them as distinct but closely related. What you call them is not important. It’s the process that is crucial.
By rewriting I mean going back over the whole text and literally rewriting whole passages – perhaps even whole chapters. In my case, there should be a minimal amount of this as I strive for my first draft to be very good. Blogging – as well as many aspects of the course work for my MA – has taught me to write quickly and accurately. It comes with experience – the more you write the better you get at it.
Despite that, I know that there are quite a few passages where I need to scrap what I’ve written and rewrite afresh. My supervising lecturers, (and fellow students) have pointed out that in the early chapters I have managed to have an inconsistent and shifting point of view which is confusing to the reader. It is very important to be consistent with POV in children’s books.
In some cases only a sentence or two need rewriting; in other areas it can be as much as a paragraph or part of a chapter.
There will also be some cultural elements relating to my setting (Nepal) that I still want to include. My first draft was just getting the story down. This element of the rewriting is more fine tuning the story, adding local colour, cultural references, locally used words and expressions and so on. I’m striving for authenticity; all I have at present is the plot. (Perhaps that is being a little harsh on myself! I hope you get the point.)
Editing on the other hand is a distinct discipline. In this stage I will look at all the nitty-gritty elements of spelling, punctuation, word usage, grammar and sentence construction. It really is a nit-picking stage. Basically being an editor with a big red pencil. A bit like how I marked students’ work when I was a classroom teacher in another life.
The editing process is also distinct from the proofreading stage. This last stage is checking that everything is totally correct, that there are no typos and the finished manuscript is perfect in every way. You don’t look for elements of style or even grammar at this stage.
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Writing a novel – many articles extensively outlining the process I went through while writing a novel for children.
The importance of editing
Proofreading one’s writing is essential. That’s a given. You certainly don’t want eny mistaeks to creep in unannounced, or unnoticed.
I can handle proofreading because I want a potential publisher to be looking at the content of my writing, not at all the errors I have made. Good impressions and all that.
Editing is a totally different matter. I’ve had a creative block against heavy and focused editing for years. Over the last 18 months while doing my Master of Arts in Creative Writing course I have been converted. Editing is an essential part of the creative process for every writer. Now I strive for every word to count. Is it the very best word to use? Is there a better word? Does that word, phrase or sentence convey the meaning I intended? Is the story, poem or article structured in the best way? And that’s just the start.
Editing can be tedious. It can also be very creative. Above all, it is essential.
It was therefore with amusement I came across a blog post recently called How to Edit even Goodlier. The text doesn’t say much, but the 3 videos are hilarious, especially the third one called “The The impotence of proofreading.” Brilliant stuff.
Happy editing – and good writing.
Hints on getting published
The road to getting published is a very difficult one. You need to know what you are doing, and submit the very best you can write.
Sadly though, submitting the very best of your writing is often not enough. You must take a very professional approach to the business of writing – and it is a business. A recent article I read gives many hints on becoming a published writer.
- Pearl versus the World Blog Tour with Sally Murphy is a a great article outlining the process she goes through to get published – over and over.
Good writing.
Writing prompts #10
My short story starters remain popular month after month.They are the most accessed articles on this blog. You can access these ideas by clicking on the link below.
Also becoming popular are the articles in my writing prompts series of articles.
Today we have another 20 writing prompts. Use these as warm up activities, or for ideas for stories or articles or blog posts. Use them however you like. Let me know in the comments how you went using these ideas.
Twenty Writing Prompts:
- Write about your favourite fruit.
- Who is your favourite famous person in history (alive or dead)? Write down a list of questions you would like to ask during an interview.
- You are waiting for a bus. A public phone starts ringing and you answer it. Write down your conversation.
- You go fishing and catch your best fish ever. As you take it off the hook, it talks to you. Record your conversation.
- Describe the life of a clock – from the point of view of the clock.
- A small spaceship flies in through your window and lands next to your computer. Describe your reaction. What do you do next?
- Describe the worst disaster you’ve ever experienced.
- Write the first sentence of the novel you want to write someday. Make it great.
- “It’s not over yet.” Write down what you think might happen next.
- Write about the things you wish you had done on your holidays.
- “That’s what’s wrong with this organisation.” Make a list of the things that need correcting. It might be best if you don’t leave this list lying around at work.
- Write about the things you are not certain about.
- Describe what happened tomorrow.
- Imagine you are an ant living in a colony of ten million ants. How valued do you feel? Write about your feelings.
- One of your hens hatches an egg containing a small dinosaur. How do you look after your new pet?
- Imagine your best friend has died. Write an obituary for your friend.
- “I thought this would never happen to me.” Describe what happened and how you dealt with the situation.
- Make a list of things you could do when sick in bed.
- “My life is based on a true story.” Write about the things that you wish had happened in your life.
- Make a list of the highlights of your life so far.
Further reading:
- Short story starters – this series of articles list dozens of opening lines for short stories.
- Writing Prompts – dozens of writing ideas to get you writing.