Editing Writing is Rewriting

1. EditingWriting is Rewriting Ref: The Longman Guide to Revising Prose, Richard A. Lanham, 2006

2. The elements of prose style – • grammar (rules), • syntax (the order of words/ phrases), • shape, rhythm, emphasis, level, usage all work as independent variables. Change one and you change the rest. • Rhythm and sound affect the reader. Rhythmless, unemphatic prose always indicates that something has gone wrong.

3. A real voice coming through… Twice daily, at sunrise and sunset, a noisy, smoke ridden train charges into the stillness of the desert. The s assonance – sunrise, sunset, noisy, smoke ridden etc. and f alliteration of fatal forces, allows a full tonal range, a chance for pitch to rise and fall, a chance to build a climax. But, don’t overdo it, readers can take a little of this, not a lot.

4. Consider this… Having won, they’re satisfied with the achievement, they’re not driven to seek their value in the gaze and the wonder of others, and they walk off into the quiet corners of history where the truth lives, grinning to watch impostors scribbling their worthless names across the walls of the public baths.

5. The quiet corners of history where the truth lives… is such a wonderful phrase. What creates the rhythm? • The sense of authentic voice.

6. MARK OUT THE RHYTHM: (If your text doesn’t flow, try this method.) Having won / they’re satisfied with the achievement / they’re not driven to seek their value in the gaze and the wonder of others / and they walk off into the quiet corners of history where the truth lives / grinning to watch impostors scribbling their worthless names / across the walls of the public baths.

7. This method helps your own rhythmic patterns. • Underline words to be stressed/ emphasised. These together give anyone who cares about prose the power to analyse how a passage works.

8. Having won / they’re satisfied with the achievement / they’re not driven to seek their value in the gaze and the wonder of others / and they walk off into the quiet corners of history where the truth lives / grinning to watch impostors scribbling their worthless names / across the walls of the public baths.

9. Now notice how many strong verb forms and how many actions the passage contains: Having won driven to seek walk off into the quiet corners grinning to watch impostors scribbling their worthless names

10. ADVICE: Read your work aloud. If a sentence doesn’t flow, or you have to read it twice, then it’s a bad sentence. Scrutinise your sentences for rhythm, flow, clarity and conciseness. Work them. Make them as tight as you can. (See Jim Crace’s fabulous prose – every sentence is carefully crafted – it’s like listening to a symphony… sorry, getting carried away…)

11. 4 things editors look for in a work of fiction Ref: Writing Great Short Stories, Margaret Lucke, 1999 • Characters that come to life • A vivid setting • An intriguing subject or background • A strong, original voice

12. Voice is what makes a story distinctive and unique. • A powerful voice lifts the story above the pages and lingers in the memory. • Voice is different to character, conflict, plot and setting. Voice is how you tell it.

13. Voice is the manner in which you combine ideas and language to create dramatic effect, or elicit the desired response from the reader. • Voice is the sum of all the decisions you make about words and paragraphs and rhythm and tone and style. • Voice is the way you imbue the story with your singular perspectives, insights and attitudes. • Voice is what makes your writing sound like you. It is your own unique style.

14. Choices a writer makes: • Choice of words. • Structure and arrangement of sentences and paragraphs. • Rhythm of the language. • Degree of formality in the language. • Linear versus layered narrative structure. • Balance among action, dialogue, description and exposition. • Use of details. • Level of suspense. • Pace of the story. • Amount and kind of humour. • Amount of emotional colour. • Regional or cultural flavour. • Use of imagery, metaphor and simile. • Use of symbols. • Kinds of allusions and references in the story. • The worldview implicit in the story. • The consistency with which the voice is maintained.

15. A good story demands its own voice. No two stories you write will sound alike. Each has its own characters, setting, atmosphere and series of events. Therefore it requires its own system of telling. You need to modify your voice to suit the genre of the story. In telling the story you adjust the voice in one of three ways:

16. To accentuate the main character’s voice: • In the 1st person POV or 3rd person limited – his/her voice is the story voice. You present the story in his/her language and style. Doing this reinforces the intimacy between the character and the readers.

17. To contrast with the main character’s voice: • Sometimes the most effective way to characterise the protagonist is to use a voice that is pointedly dissimilar from him/her. You can do this in the 3rd person omniscient POV. • Or assign the job of narrator to some character other than the protagonist.

18. To make your presentation seem objective: • Describing the events in a neutral voice allows readers to draw their own conclusions, even though you are the person behind the scenes and directing their response. Here you SHOW what happens rather than climb inside the characters’ heads – readers form their own opinions. The readers’ reactions will be strong. (3rd person omniscient/objective POV)

19. A BIT ABOUT GRAMMAR If you are not sure about your grammar – brush up! Grammar is a dynamic system of extraordinary beauty and power. It is the design that transforms a series of words from a meaningless list into the expression of a thought. An essential book to get if you are serious about writing: The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White.

20. Fall in love with words; they are your basic tools. Appreciate how words work. Keep them sharp and polished, and use them with care and accuracy. (ref: Jim Crace!) The following are some writing tips:

21. Use active words. Verbs contain action and energy. This gives them greater strength and power than the other parts of speech. Changing a verb in a sentence alters the impact of what you’re saying. • Limit your use of IS and WAS, HAVE and HAD. Although they are verbs, the variants of TO BE and TO HAVE are passive – they just sit there. Try to express the thought so that readers can visualise it: • Gina was a happy woman who had long black hair. (TELL) • Gina often laughed, and her raven hair stroked her face and shone, like her. (SHOW)

22. Be careful with adjectives and adverbs. They can be valuable assistants, but too often we rely on them to do a job that could be handled better by an aptly chosen noun or verb… • Nathan WENT SLOWLY down the hill. Try… Nathan meandered…drifted…sauntered… strolled…ambled…hobbled…plodded…down the hill. • Each of the verbs conveys a slightly different image of Nathan and a more specific picture than the combination of WENT with its adverb.

23. After you write a scene, try cutting out all adjectives and adverbs and then read both versions out loud. Put back only the modifiers that provide essential information or contribute to the vividness of the readers’ mental picture. • Avoid waffle. Qualifiers like SOMEWHAT, RATHER, and VERY can detract more than they add. They make prose sound wishy-washy and indecisive.

24. Don’t use MAYBE, MIGHT HAVE, or SEEMS. Avoid: There seemed to be a unicorn in the garden. If you see a mythical beast prancing amongst the tulips, say so with conviction. The exception of course is in dialogue. In dialogue ‘It seems there might be a unicorn in the garden,’ said Sandy, will show a character’s personality. Sandy is either uncaring, or often sees one!

25. Beginner writers often bring in businesslike or academic wording. • He did it deficiently • He did it badly Which one would you put in a story?Recognise these words and cut them out – this is creative writing. You are telling a story.

26. There is no room for the passive (was decided/be adopted) in fiction – we need boldness, daring, a willingness to make strong statements and take risks. Use the active form (decided/ adopt).

27. We all have favourite words and phrases, so we use them without thinking. Try not to overuse them, as they will sound repetitive, careless and dull. They are your own personal clichés! Stretch yourself and find a new way to make a point. • Note: so many times I find ‘which’ used throughout a story – notice these things in your writing.

28. Some say there is no such thing as a synonym. Words have tone, colour, emotional weight and connotations beyond their literal definitions. They have strengths and weaknesses, sounds and rhythms that might be harmonious or discordant in a particular story. Choosing the right words means paying attention to its effect as well as its meaning. • Change the word and you will change the impression you make on your readers:

29. Naked: nude, bare, undressed, unclothed, stripped, in the buff, in the raw, in his birthday… • If we said the Emperor is in his birthday suit. We get a different impression to the Emperor is in the buff!

30. When you start to edit your story, you need to look at your use of language. You need to make sure you are choosing the words and images with the greatest punch and power, the ones that will convey your ideas most clearly and truthfully. Test each word!!! Is it accurate? Is it strong? Or indeed, is it necessary? • Beginner writers: if you cut your story in half, it will be a better story.

31. In writing a story you have four ways to give the reader information: ACTION DIALOGUE DESCRIPTION EXPOSITION (explanation) ACTION and DIALOGUE do the showing. DESCRIPTION and EXPOSITION do the telling.

32. AND FINALLY • Think in scenes – structure your story as a series of scenes that fix both characters and readers firmly in a particular time and place. Move quickly from one scene to the next, without lengthy transitions.

33. Keep the action going – weave in the background material a line or two at a time. That way you don’t give readers a chance to wander away from the scene. • Let the characters do the explaining – put important information in dialogue and give us the pleasure of discovering it by eavesdropping. Let one character explain things to another.

34. Use flashbacks – if we need to know about a salient background incident, travel us back to the moment. Make the flashback a little scene of its own, with characters in action in a specific time and place. • Finding your own voice is to ignore the trends and pursue the story you feel passionate about. Become willing to offer your unique and valuable perspective, based on your personal observations, experiences, and imaginings, and don’t hold back.

35. 3 ways to develop your narrative voice • WRITE • WRITE SOME MORE • KEEP ON WRITING!