In which we don't really resolve anything, but we try. Friday, January 10, 2003 So, what did I learn this week in writing? Yes, if you were wondering, that is still the name of my journal. Most of what I learn right now, I learn from editing. It used to be, that an editor would read a work, love it despite its flaws, and therefore contract the author and work on it. Fix its flaws, clean up the smudges. In this process the author learned an awful lot, and the editor got a product he could be proud of, that he invested a lot of himself in. It's the shiny cliche that, despite my assertion at the beginning of all this, may or may not have been true, but we all, to a certain extent, believe in. For the most part, (and anything can happen, in the publishing world) this is not something that happens now. Many editors use agents to vet a work before they see it...making the agent a slush pile reader, in effect...and both agents and editors demand perfection -- they do not have time for typos, obviously, but nor do they have time for loose plot strings, or weak middles, either. But there's the trap...most people can't afford to have their book edited. I'm not sure what I think of critique groups...I never joined one, I confess, because I thought the investment of time might be a little more than I could afford, and if I join, I want to do right by my fellow critters. I suppose you simply work at it. It's quite confusing, trying to figure out what to do. Neil Gaiman used to quote...Zelazney? Delany? in his advice to young writers. It went something like this... Write. Finish what you write. Don't edit except for what your editor requests. This is actually good advice. One of the major extremes writers go to is that they either think that they are so emensly talented that the words that flow unto the paper are exactly what belongs there, or they edit, and edit, and edit. And edit. And edit some more. I guess it's up to you when you stop editing. My best advice is related to the second book thing I talked about in a previous post, and that after you've written your book, put it aside. Write something else. Edit your book. Put it aside (repeat as many times as needed)... Writer story of the day: Micheal Palmer's (Fatal) editor who signed him said, "You can't teach plotting like this, but you can teach writing." and so, despite the fact the gent couldn't write very well, he got a contract. And they taught him how to write. So that's kinda neat. Well, as Red Green says, I'm pulling for you, we're all in this together. Permalink Cindy scribed this at 4:16 PM 0 comments

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