The beauty of a superb piece of writing (as a gorgeous musical composition) is what is left out–the empty spaces. A writer does not want to confuse the writer (???) with clutter. Every thing that is not necessary has been taken out.
You want every word, every phrase, every sentence and paragraph to matter. I always said that an excellent editor is worth their weight in gold. It is very difficult for the writer to see their piece objectively.
You always need someone from the outside who you trust for their advice on your written piece. Sure you need to do everything you can before you submit your piece to someone else.
Nevertheless, at some point you need to present your piece to someone else for their opinion. You have to be very careful who you choose and when to do this. You have given your piece your all.
Now it is time to let someone else read it. Everything that gets in the way has to be taken out or changed. You want every word to count. You can not do this by yourself.
Tags: editing writing, editors, empty spaces, every word counts, excellent editor, let someone else read it, musical composition, writers, writing
Posted in art, balance, beauty, God, knowledge&learning, music, time, wisdom, writing |
Editing your own work is always painful. Having one or two persons who can give you helpful feedback is invaluable. My wife is such a person and I don’t take her for granted. I like what Stephen King said in a book he wrote about writing, ‘take out what is not the story.’ It is not easy to do. And an outsider is in a much better position to tell you that. I have one test: if you take something out of your story (poem or whatever) and you do not miss it, it did not belong there. The beauty of a well written piece is what is left out–like a beautiful piece of music where every note counts. You do not want to discourage the reader with clutter. You want every word to count. Having said that, it is not easy to do. A good editor is worth their weight in gold.
Tags: beautiful piece of music, clutter in writing, don't take for granted, editing your writing, every note counts, every word counts, good editor worth their weight in gold, helpful feedback, my wife, poem, poetry, reader, Stephen King, take out what is not the story, well written, writers, writing
Posted in art, balance, beauty, God, knowledge&learning, life, marriage, music, time, wisdom, writing, your job/mission/profession |
