Jan Marquart's Blog - Posts Tagged "editing"
Editing
It seems I write something, then spend years editing it. So many things to remember: read it aloud, take out extra words, don't use cliches, keep the details fresh, don't overlook powerful adjectives, make sure dialogue is realistic, make sure characters are realistic, make sure your plot finishes with an ending that will keep your reader wanting more, make the reader want to cheer for the protagonist, give details without boring the reader, (not Thomas Hardy style, who by the way, I adore), the list goes on and on. Then, when it is all said and done, your piece has to be read by someone else, someone not in your head, preferably who doesn't know you. Someone who sends you back to the editing board to correct the flaws you missed the first thousandth times.
I buy pencils by the bulk because I use them each time I edit. I cannot edit on the computer; somehow it changes the way my pieces read. Don't ask me more about that because I don't understand it myself. Anyone else notice this? I know writers who write everything on a legal pad. Computers interrupt their creative process. They need to feel the pen and touch the paper. This happens to me, sometimes. Why only sometimes and not always? I simply don't know. I write my journals on paper with pens but my books on the computer. My thoughts race with ideas when I'm ready to write a manuscript and since I type faster than I write, the computer comes in handy.
I've been exploring my writing process for over 30 years. I'm fascinated by it. I'm intrigued by how much deeper my consciousness allows me to go as I continue writing, as if it makes sure it doesn't reveal itself all at once. Ah, the mystery of the muse...
When I write I feel the line bordering between wholesomeness and yet eccentricity. I touch the reality between real and other wordly.
I'd love to hear about your process. I'd love to hear how writing demands your blood, pays you diamonds yet has you begging for food.
I buy pencils by the bulk because I use them each time I edit. I cannot edit on the computer; somehow it changes the way my pieces read. Don't ask me more about that because I don't understand it myself. Anyone else notice this? I know writers who write everything on a legal pad. Computers interrupt their creative process. They need to feel the pen and touch the paper. This happens to me, sometimes. Why only sometimes and not always? I simply don't know. I write my journals on paper with pens but my books on the computer. My thoughts race with ideas when I'm ready to write a manuscript and since I type faster than I write, the computer comes in handy.
I've been exploring my writing process for over 30 years. I'm fascinated by it. I'm intrigued by how much deeper my consciousness allows me to go as I continue writing, as if it makes sure it doesn't reveal itself all at once. Ah, the mystery of the muse...
When I write I feel the line bordering between wholesomeness and yet eccentricity. I touch the reality between real and other wordly.
I'd love to hear about your process. I'd love to hear how writing demands your blood, pays you diamonds yet has you begging for food.
