Hello! Erin Wood, Et Alia owner/director here to let you know that I’m excited to share this series writing and editing tips.
Informed by more than a decade of small press publishing, nearly 15 years as a professional editor during which I’ve edited dozens of nonfiction and children’s books and hundreds of essays, years as a writing coach, and decades as a writer, these are tips I’ve seen help others and that have been valuable to me, personally, as a writer, editor, and publisher. I hope that they help you strengthen and deepen your writing and editing practice.
Ready for the cold, hard truth? No one is going to give you permission to create. Wait for someone to tell you it is okay to spend your time writing and making, and you may wait a lifetime.
Martha Graham (American modern dancer and choreographer who reshaped the teaching of dance) makes this offering for the why of not waiting for creative permission:
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching . . .”
Those already familiar with this quote may note it is missing “keeps us marching, and makes us more alive than the others.” I struck it because I believe that in the right circumstances (which again, we must create for ourselves) we can and will ALL come alive in our creativity.
Writing is a practice. Like any practice (physical, mental, or both) the more it is done, the easier it is. Something like muscle memory, it can become a reaction, a habit.
Also, the more you write, the more you notice about the world around you that can then be turned into material for your writing, be it a topic, a beautiful phrase, or a beginning or ending sentence. So, writing begets writing. It's pretty magical.
To further your sense of accomplishment, at the beginning of each week, create a list of the number of times you plan to write or add “write” to your daily calendar. When you finish each session, cross through your task completed.
Before you know it, your practice will become easier. Sit down, and do it! Write on.
Guard your writing time like your life depends on it. The life of your mind does, and isn’t it true that the life of our bodies follows the life of our minds?
Set a standing appointment, a date with yourself, as you would set it with a friend or lover with whom you desperately want to spend time. Make it non-negotiable. During this time, allow your writing to captivate you completely. Turn your devices, your email, all the other roles that you play, OFF. Allow nothing to come between you and your writing. This writing time is yours and yours alone.
Many writers find that the early morning or late night offers the best opportunity to maintain these standing appointments because there’s a lower likelihood of interruption. In a 1993 interview in The Paris Review, Toni Morrison said, “Writing before dawn began as a necessity—I had small children when I first began to write and I needed to use the time before they said, Mama—and that was always around five in the morning.” Find the time at which you can best resist others’ needs of you. Remember, your writing needs you, too.
During your writing time, turn your devices, your email, all the other roles that you play (including as editor of your own work), OFF. Setting a timer during which your OFF time occurs can be one way to free your attention for the time period of your choice. Stay focused until those 20 minutes, hour and 20 minutes, or whatever your personal goal is, have passed.
In our connected, overstimulated, and currently news-saturated, doom-scrolling culture, this will require a very high level of vigilance. You can do it. You have to. Remember, the life of your mind, your wellbeing, depends on it. In the words of Martha Graham from an earlier post, “keep the channel open.” Your channel is what brings you closer to the divine, and it will not open if you do not turn off all other channels. Turn them off, turn your writer on.
Some of the most memorable writers in history only wrote a few hours daily (Toni Morrison) or set a relatively low word count goal (Earnest Hemmingway, 500 words per day or about the equivalent of two double-spaced pages). Release the mindset that in order to be a writer, you have to log full days, 7-days a week, or devote enormous stretches of time to your practice.
If writing daily isn't an option, try setting a weekly time or word count, and take pride in accomplishing your goal no matter how you divvied your time to reach the goal. Give it what fits into your schedule, keep your commitment to yourself/your date with your writing, and focus relentlessly during the time you commit. Everything else will fall into place.
What creates the best opportunity for you to enter that blessed, blissful flow state?
Is it writing by hand with a Dixon Ticonderoga No.2 or your beloved late grandmother’s ink pen? Is it moving everything off your desk and digging in on your PC or hitting a coffee shop (in your mask), popping open your laptop, and drowning out the noise with your headphones while listening to Bjork? Is it wearing your lucky socks? It looks different for everyone. You can't underestimate how finding the right setting might affect how much writing you get done.
What puts you in the mood to write and/or to let your creativity flow?
No matter how tempting, do not edit yourself in the early stages of planning and writing drafts. Realize that writing and editing are two very distinct processes. If it helps you to physically put an “editor hat” on your head, and physically remove it to emphasize this point for yourself, do so.
Early drafts are about ideas, production, freedom, and uninterrupted flow. They are not the time to stifle or question yourself. No matter how odd, nonsensical, or out of place something may seem at this stage, there is a reason it is coming to you. Your seemingly bizarre thought may become useful later for a purpose you can’t imagine now, so don’t take the red pen to it yet. Your intuition may be at work on something pretty cool.
There's no harm in considering the different directions a piece can take before you choose one. In fact, there’s only possibility. Just leave the possibilities there and keep writing.
Our brains are so neat. They process and make connections while we’re doing other things like taking showers, obeying stop lights, rocking our babies, stirring our stews. This time, during which you may otherwise feel you are doing “nothing important” in terms of your writing process, is actually a vital part of the process. Give yourself credit for this essential thinking!
Important stuff also happens when we are sleeping. Pro tip: before you go to sleep, read (don’t edit) a piece of writing you’re working on. When you wake up in the morning, you may find that some magical connections have been made while you were catching Zzzzs. Bump it up a notch by getting in the habit of writing “morning pages,” a journal of thoughts on waking. (Yep, do this before you ever look at your phone.) Julia Cameron introduced morning pages as a breakthrough writers’ tool in her book, The Artist’s Way, if you want to learn more.
Before you transition into the editing process, give what you’ve written room to breathe.
Breathing takes time and space. Time, as in hours or days or weeks passing, depending on the stage of writing you’re in, and space as in physical space (like, set it down and leave room that the writing is in and don’t look at it even though it calls to you to look at it).
When we are too close to our writing, we will have a harder time editing it. Also, it will feel harder to truly listen to others’ input, which could be invaluable. You may find that you react differently to criticisms and feedback of your writing if you allow room to breathe. It can be difficult not to be defensive of a piece when you've just written it and it's too fresh for the editing or revision stage.
So join the chorus, “Let it breathe.”
Especially when you are a less experienced writer (but even if you're seasoned), poorly thought out, uninformed, unconstructive, or even downright rude feedback can be devastating. And that is no exaggeration—writers have sadly put down their pens because of something someone else says. Don’t let this be you. Your writing is too important.
As you develop, think carefully about who you choose to share with (whether the reader is a writer, a friend, a writing group member, a mentor, an editor, etc.). You may not yet be ready to share your work with close friends and family, whether because of the subject matter or because you’re not ready for their reactions (positive or negative). You may find it more useful to be workshopped by peers or strangers who don't project interpretations of the text or insert facts based on details they know from from our personal lives beyond the page, which may not be in the creative work at all. Carefully consider the advantages and drawbacks of your relationship with each reader and how that might influence their feedback before you share, just so you are aware of it going in.
Always know that the reader’s opinion is just that, one opinion from one reader, with which you may or may not agree. Also always know that the aesthetics of writing are highly subjective. We all have style preferences, just like if we were to walk into a museum, we’d probably connect to a different piece of art than would the ten people around us. Remember that you’re trying to develop your own style and that your way of experiencing and expressing that experience is unique in all the world. Is your reader trying to make your style like theirs? Or are they helping you hone it to be more like your own?
The more you write and are edited and workshopped, the more you can fit advice into its proper category.
Previously, we looked at the importance of carefully considering who we share with. Now, why are we sharing? There is no wrong answer, and the answer may look different with every piece and change over time. But, if writing is part of your voyage of self-discovery, you’d be remiss to not answer the why, even if it is only to and for yourself . . .
Your inquiry might look something like this: Do I want to see if what I think I’m communicating lands with my readers in the way I mean it to? Does my ego need praise? Do I need the approval of others to feel that a project is valuable? Do I want to publish my work? Where do I want to publish my work? Why there? Is my desire for sharing and publishing my work altering the way I'm writing? If I’m altering my work for a publication, why, and do I feel comfortable with that? Do I want to improve as a writer? Maybe some of all the above?
Of course, it’s only natural to want people to like our work. Aren’t we, afterall, trying to gain an audience of readers who will actually spend their time reading what we spend all our time writing? Try to create your own perfect stew of revising with an eye toward the constructive feedback of trusted readers, humbly and open-heartedly accepting critiques that will help you improve as a writer, and staying true to your own style, always aware of your own, highly informative inquiry around WHY.
Related to the previous tip of wisely choosing a trusted reader or readers, and putting their opinions of your work into context, the timing of sharing is also important.
Have you ever shared an early or incomplete draft, or even just shared what this exciting new piece of writing is that you’re working on, and experienced the deflation effect? Like the wind just drops out of the sails and the sails end up adrift at sea and you never find the energy to pick the piece back up again? Consider whether you shared too early and think about keeping it longer in its sacred bubble where you can incubate it. That’s a lot of metaphor for one paragraph, and mixed metaphors at that, but maybe you get the idea: don’t share too soon. It can spell the end of your project.
Writing groups can be really awesome.
First, they can offer savings. Hiring an editor can be expensive. When you’re part of a writing group, you can get feedback from numerous writers while bartering your own time and feedback in exchange rather than paying for the service.
Second, they can provide many perspectives that will be helpful to your manuscript development as well as your development as a writer.
Third, they can offer much-needed accountability to make sure you remain committed to your practice (for writing and submissions).
Fourth, they can be your supporters in times of disappointment and cheerleaders in times of triumph.
As you learned in yesterday’s tip, writing groups can be awesome. Writing groups can also be not so awesome, and they are not all created with equal expertise or value. Ideally, you are growing as a writer and person throughout your time with a particular writing group. Dynamics may shift and members may come and go or no longer be able to contribute at the same level they once were. One member or the group may stifle your creativity. Or, you may need more advice particular to your genre. Whatever it may be, be honest with yourself about whether the group is working for you. If not, move on! There’s a writing group out there with a group dynamic that can help you thrive. If you can’t find one, form one from those you want to compose the group.
Need advice for best practices for running your writing group to maximize benefits for all involved?
For $5, you’ll receive a meeting structure and suggestions based on Et Alia owner/director Erin Wood’s more than 15 years of working with numerous writing groups. Message us for info.
Great life-skill in general, great skill with regard to writing feedback.
Although many writers prefer leaving things open-ended, it may be helpful to let your reader know what you're expecting from them. Not only can it be helpful to your writing, it can help you avoid unpleasant interpersonal situations.
Do you want feedback on the concepts in general? The framework? The chronology? The grammar? Stylistic choices? A particular passage you’re struggling with? Be honest with yourself and your reader about the type of feedback you want or find helpful, and consider choosing your reader based on a mix of your needs and their strengths. Readers will notice different qualities about your work and have differing interpretations of the same piece.
Tune up that good, old-fashioned, free voice you have and belt it out. Listen to it and revealed to you will be stumbles and mistakes that you didn’t notice on the page.
Reading out loud is a great way to discover if your writing has the tone you want it to. Does it sound stuffy and academic? Is it casual and conversational? Are your sentences too long to say in one breath? Another tip is to have someone else read your work back to you. Do they emphasize the words you had wanted them to? Does the pacing feel right? Use punctuation to guide your reader the way you want your content to be read. Use all the commas, sentence breaks, and new paragraphs you need to make your work sound the same out loud as it did in your head when you were writing it.
Too many long sentences in a row can overwhelm the reader, especially if the material or concept is complicated. Give your dear reader a brain break by varying sentence length and making sure every third or fourth sentence is brief, jargon-free, and easy to understand.
For book-length projects and for consistency across your writing, create a style sheet. This is a quick-glance one sheet that has all the grammar that you would otherwise keep looking up or flipping back to again and again.
You'll find this to be extremely beneficial and time-friendly within your writing process, and the consistency of a style sheet will make your writing more professional and credible.