Author: Lisa

Universal Editing

/ Lisa / 4 Comments

I read a blog today by a woman who just had her work edited. She was discouraged, felt like she was a horrible writer, and questioned whether to continue writing or not. This woman has a fantastic blog that I absolutely love reading, here on wordpress, called Intergalactic Writing Inc. This is a drawback of the internet because I wish I could reach out and give her a hug. What she experienced is not what editing is about.

She said she assumed some parts were good because there were no comments. There were only comments where things were ‘bad’. Oh, my blood pressure is rising. It is equally important to have the things that work (‘good’) pointed out, too. A good editor comments on what works, and explains why. We writers learn as much from those comments as we do from having problems pointed out. Second, an edit should never focus on negatives. Even when something doesn’t work, it doesn’t deserve negatives, it deserves suggestions, support, and work between the editor and the writer.

I always say a good edit leaves a writer enthusiastic and excited to jump back in and work. If I’ve been edited and the result leaves me discouraged or feeling like a failure as a writer, I feel that’s actually a failure of the partnership between the editor and the writer. Nothing infuriates me more than seeing a writer give up because of a negative edit. Especially when, more than likely, the negative edit is the opinion of only one person.

Edits should be respectful, positive, educational, and productive. They should not kill the love of words, the love of the writing craft, or the spirit of the writer. I’ve had my work edited by professional editors, where I paid a lot and writing friends where I paid nothing. Each and every one has taught me something. I guess I’m lucky I didn’t end up with an editor like this person did. If so, I’m not sure I’d be where I am on my writing path.

Okay, I’ll climb down from the box now before this turns into a rant. The point is well taken I’m sure. So what kind of editing results have you had? Have you been left raw and bleeding or uplifted and excited to be a writer?

Exercising again

/ Lisa / 2 Comments

On the same note as before, here was one writing prompt I found interesting. The exercise said to write about what you carry. This is what I came up with. My writer’s group got a laugh out of it so thought I’d share.
Some people collect stamps, but I horde tampons, stashing them in backpacks, cupboards and vehicles. Once, on a day hike with nowhere else available, I tucked one in my bra. My chest became a face with two drooping eyes and a skinny nose.

My husband was pulled over coming home from work at four a.m., and the deputy, hunting drunks, asked for his license and registration. Opening the glove box, tampons fell out. Opening the console, he rooted through them. Two men staring at alien symbols of femininity.

Since menopause began I never know when things will start. Sometimes months go by, and then without warning, and usually in public, I’m reminded that I have yet to move completely into that time when I am no longer fertile. Because there is no regularity, because Nature’s humor leans toward shock value, I fear being caught unprepared. Convinced I have no supply, I buy more. Just in case I’m in the car or out walking, or in the middle of a meeting. Convinced the ones I’ve hidden are gone, I grab more when I leave home. The piles grow.

This time of life, a woman moves from child bearing to becoming a wise woman. Or, as my doctor says, acknowledging my Celtic heritage, an old crone. He tells me this move is natural, like seasons changing from summer to fall. That’s me, moving into autumn, afraid of being caught in the elements unprepared.

I now drink water through hot flashes and eat healthier. I go for walks in the woods with my dogs. I write. I am learning to recognize those emotional moments that never happened in my spring, and to pamper myself in sad times. And I carry tampons, seeking security, trying to convince myself I’m ready.

So, what do you carry?

Daily Exercise

/ Lisa / 4 Comments

I’ve been trying to figure out why writing exercises bore me.  The writer’s group I belong to used to assign them on a regular basis as homework but few people did them.  The lack of response made me realize why I find exercises boring.  Most don’t seem geared toward teaching writing.  They seem more like writing prompts to help someone blocked.  Think about it.  The most common writing exercises sound like this.  Write about an attic.  Write about your first friend.  Well, personally I don’t learn much from those.  I want to improve my craft, not come up with new subjects to write about.  That I can do on my own.

A few exercises though, do help.  Ones that say, for instance, to take a work in progress and write a portion of it from a different point of view.   Those challenge me because it forces me to try something outside my normal safe boundaries.  But somehow even that type of exercise doesn’t feel like enough.

I’m not saying this because I think I have nothing to learn about the craft.  It’s the opposite.  The problem is finding out what works for me.  I’m sorry, but the creative writing instructor who told me to write about a peanut didn’t teach me anything.

In contrast, I’ve learned a lot from books like Jessica Morrell’s ‘Between the Lines’.  Her section, for example, on prologues, when they work, why they fail, and when they should be used, taught me a lot.  And that’s how I learn.  Show me why something works or doesn’t, and send me away to play.  I learn, too, from having my work edited.  If someone suggests looking at how the work changes by flipping the order of a sentence, or by using a more active word, I’ll go away with my pages, play with the words, and learn.

Which doesn’t really sound like an exercise in writing any more than a list of prompts.  Exercise is supposed to make us work though so I suppose in the long run what’s important isn’t how you define an exercise in writing but what the end result is for the writer.

So what constitutes exercise in your writing?  How do you learn and challenge your ability?  How do you make sure you continue to grow as a writer?