Filed under 2021, writing tip, Writing Tip Wednesday
From a recent letter sent home from school involving a class trip coming up in later part of April:
“Hello 7th grade Families and students,
“The time has come to provide some details for the 7th grade trip to Atlanta! The trip dovetails with our … curriculum, and we are excited about what lies ahead for our students.”
Several paragraphs later:
“Although there is no real need for devices, students may bring cellphones or one electronic device on the trip (sic). We want students to fully engage with activities each day, but we realize that there will be many fabulous photo opportunities in our nation’s capital.”
***
Now, I want to know what curriculum are they teaching?
Did they fight the Civil War again, and I missed it?
Filed under 2016, proofreading
WHEN TO SAY WHEN: HOW MUCH EDITING IS ENOUGH?
by BRUCE HALE
http://www.brucehalewritingtips.com/
One of the most common questions I hear from writing students is “How do I know when to stop editing and revising my story?” Or in other words, “when do I say when?”
I ran into this same problem when making ahi stir-fry yesterday. I seared the fish awhile, then made a guess and tossed in the vegetables. (Wolfgang Puck I’m not.)
I wondered how long to let the whole mess fry. Would I overcook the fish or undercook the veggies? Finally, a gut feeling said, “Whoops, the fish might be too well-done.” Turned out that feeling was right.
With a meal, it’s too late (unless you’ve got a hungry dog handy). Overcooked isn’t curable. But with a story, provided you’ve saved your earlier drafts, over-edited isn’t irreversible.
So when do you stop cooking your story?
I believe this decision comes from a gut feeling – a blend of experience and intuition.
ONE AND DONE?
Kids do one draft and believe they’re done. But experience has taught us adult writers the importance of rewriting. Of course, the danger is that we can tend to over-think, over-edit, and try to make our story perfect.
Big news: Your story doesn’t need to be perfect. In fact it will never be perfect, because story writing isn’t like math. There isn’t one absolute, right answer.
In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that attachment to perfection is the enemy of art. In trying to get it “perfect”, we inhibit ourselves from freely expressing, and we can kill what’s alive in our
work.
So when you edit, don’t aim for “perfect.” Shoot for “as good as I can make it right now.” Your gut will guide you.
If you’re feeling too close to the story, have a trusted writing partner read it and comment. Then, if you’re still not sure, ask yourself some questions:
— Have I solicited feedback from readers I trust?
— Have I incorporated suggested changes that felt right to me?
— Am I afraid of the response this story will receive, and am I just delaying sending it out?
— Is this story as good as I can make it right now?
If you answered “yes” to all those questions, you’ve got your answer.
Enough is enough. Trust your gut. Send that manuscript out before you overcook it. (After all, Rover won’t eat an overdone story.)
___________
Bruce Hale
About Bruce…
Bruce Hale began his career as a writer while living in Tokyo, and continued it when he moved to Hawaii in 1983. Before entering the world of children’s books, he worked as a magazine editor, surveyor, corporate lackey, gardener, actor, and deejay.
Bruce has written and illustrated over 25 books for kids. His Underwhere series includes Prince of Underwhere and Pirates of Underwhere. His Chet Gecko Mysteries series includes: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, The Big Nap, The Malted Falcon, Hiss Me Deadly, and others. More at http://www.brucehale.com/
Filed under writing tip, Writing Tip Wednesday
Step up, sit down, and read about one editor’s adventures in editing. If you are a writer, it is worth your time, and if you are a reader, it is also worth you time. And if you don’t do either, well, then, shame on you.
One day, Bantam publisher Irwyn Applebaum summoned me into his office and asked, “How do you respond when I say, ‘Tom Robbins’?” Without even thinking, I said, “one of the great prose stylists of his generation.” He said, “That’s what I thought. I want you to go out to Seattle and meet him. You might become his editor.” (Spoiler Alert: I did, and I did. But I’m getting ahead of myself.)
In past pieces in this series, I’ve tried to give you some idea of what life is really like from the editor’s point of view. I began writing “Adventures In Editing” because I rarely read about that aspect of the publishing business, and the little I did read described only a cookie-cutter, stereotypical, author-v.-editor relationship that tended to come from the author’s side of the negotiating desk: much of it seemed to emanate from Writer’s Digest
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Filed under editor
WHAT STAR TREK TAUGHT ME ABOUT REVISING
by BRUCE HALE
http://www.brucehalewritingtips.com/
Captain Kirk and company taught me more about story revision than you would expect from the crew of a starship. Remember in those old Star Trek episodes, they were always switching their phasers back and forth between “stun” and “vaporize”? That’s the key. We
need to make the same kind of distinctions in our revision process.
Am I saying we should stun our readers? Well, yes, we want to knock them out with our awesome writing, but what I’m driving at is being able to switch up the speed/intensity of our revising to suit the phase of revision we’re in.
To put it another way, we need to know when to scan and when to nitpick.
A GOOD TIME TO SCAN
After you’ve finished that ugly-sloppy first draft and let it sit for awhile, it’s time to tackle the first revision. Although it’s tempting to dive in and fix every little grammatical error and awkward phrase you come across, this isn’t the time.
The first time you reread your first draft, set your phasers on “scan.” Resist the temptation to fix every little word and phrase. Instead, move quickly and focus on the big stuff, like:
– Does this plot make sense at all times?
– Are my characters’ actions properly motivated?
– Are there any gaps in logic or chunks of the story that need a major overhaul?
– Is anything missing – scenes that SHOULD be there but aren’t?
– Is anything extraneous – scenes that SHOULDN’T be there but are?
In my first revision, I do my best to concentrate on these major issues, while occasionally highlighting sections of text that need further attention — but not stopping to do the work right then. That effort is best left for the next stage.
GETTIN’ NITPICKY WITH IT
After you’ve identified and solved the major issues, it’s time to take your next revision more slowly. Really put your language under the microscope. Remember, not only the content of the story but also the way it’s told count with readers. In this revision I look for:
– Places to inject humor or emphasize some strong emotion.
– Places to use metaphor and simile to make the language come alive.
– Dead spots where the story’s momentum slows down too much.
– Consistency of dialog – does each character always sound like himself? Do they sound too much like each other?
Depending on your writing process, it may take one or several revisions at this nitpicky level to get your story in shape.
LAST MAN SCANNING
I like to finish up with one last scan before I send the manuscript out. This time I read the story out loud, and fairly quickly, looking for echoes (unintentionally repeated words) and any place where my tongue stumbles. While novels aren’t read aloud as often as picture books, this technique works on both. Guaranteed, you’ll learn a few things about your writing — like, I had no idea I used “just” so frequently — as well as making your story a smoother read.
And after all that revision, you may feel, in the words of Mr. Scott, that the “ship’s shields are buckling.” No need to fret. Just step away from the computer, have a seat in a comfy chair, and begin brainstorming the next book. And smile. You won’t have to revise again for awhile.
___________
Bruce Hale
Bruce has written and illustrated over 25 books for kids. His Underwhere series includes Prince of Underwhere and Pirates of Underwhere. His Chet Gecko Mysteries series includes: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, The Big Nap, The Malted Falcon, Hiss Me Deadly, and others. More at http://www.brucehale.com/
Filed under Writing Tip Wednesday
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