Editing nuances

Editing is writing’s underbelly. Something that pokes holes in our joy of writing. It is as if you take great pains to cook and then the food turns out to be inedible. Or, you click photos of exquisite things, only to return home and notice you had never removed the lens cover.

But hey editing is not at all that painful, it is merely a consequence of writing. In fact, editing is fantastic.

Look at art. It does not provide a chance to return to a starting point and modify because it might ruin the entire image. Artists need ripe ideas and cannot work well with half-baked ones. They have to painfully analyze every stroke and move as well. We, on the other hand, can write muck and then rearrange it to a masterpiece. That is where editing is deployed. Therefore, editing must be crucial. But how?

They say the true art of writing lies in rewriting. Anybody can write, just like anybody can dance or paint. It might be the ugliest dance or the most revolting painting, but it just goes to show that execution requires immense thought. Choreography and color are carefully considered.

Writers suffer from an ancient curse. We can only know what to write when we have written.

E.M. Forster said, “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” We have to get writing to see what to write about. Paradoxical? Yes.

Naturally, your first drafts turn out to be wonderful and sometimes nauseating but that’s how it is meant to be.

As you progress, ideas spring out and an image forms. Soon, you would know what to write about.So, how do you turn these fecal matters into ornaments? Take a hint, You have to edit.

Editing brings with it negative connotations - spotting errors, correcting sentences, grammar, and the rest. It’s obvious to think of it as a glorified spellcheck, or a read through, a finishing touch. Editing is all those, no doubt, but limiting its perspective is as good as saying surgery is operation. Certainly, but it is much more. It saves your life. And editing will save your story.

However, does it fit into our context? Sure, editing is necessary for the biggies of the literary world, for transcribers, for newspapers, and the lot. But what about storyteller?

You don’t look to publish every word you write. You hawk it to a smaller audience and never think of it as ‘work’. You love it, so you do it, right? Nothing complicated. Some of you may have big dreams of becoming a writer and some look at writing as a fun pastime. Neither is wrong, but both require editing. And here is why:

A large number of the reader audience stops reading if they notice a content error in the first few sentences itself.

The first page is your chance to win their attention. Spoil it and the reader might move to a different story. If writing is laying brick, editing is curing it. Whatever you write needs to be durable. Regardless of the size of your audience.

As you read that sentence, you may begin perspiring like a man in a steam bath. That’s a ridiculous standard, you may think. If the content is understandable, minor mistakes will not cause great damage. Punctuation marks, grammatical errors, can be brushed off if they are slight. But these errors may stick out like a scar. It makes the readers feel that they are reading an uninterested writer’s work and it might not be worthy of their time.

However, editing is so emotionally invasive, that it is avoided like a disease. It is almost mechanical to an extent. A job for robots. It can have devastating effects if what you wrote came from a deep personal space. You may feel that editing is that brush which is being used to ‘fix’ your work. On the contrary, writers should take editing to be like the varnish used to add polish to the furnish.

We are not talking about misspellings or para breaks. We are talking about sentences that are redundant but loved. Paragraphs that are confusing, but literary gold. Weakness in the plot, but cherished like monsoon rains.

Yes, editing is hard. But it is fantastic and here are the reasons. 

Editing ensures what you write is logically sound by tracing your flow of thought.

Helps condense your writing and concentrate its meaning.

Points out errors in readability and if the content is understandable to a layman.

Forces you to change your perspective every time.

Develops reader comfort, which is your ultimate goal.

You may write down your thoughts as they appear and call it a rough draft (some call it ‘the shitty first draft’) and that draft is priceless. Something definitely stands out and you get an idea. The second draft leads to another idea until you finally realize how to begin, how to entertain and how to end. Editing is the ultimate weapon of any writer. It is a challenge to master, no doubt, but relax the following measures could help strengthen your literature -

Read aloud - You can do this in front of a mirror, or into a microphone. But a text-to-speech reader is better. There’s a decent one that’s built inside your computer, but better sounding readers can be fished out online. It helps not just to identify mistakes in spelling, but punctuation as well. And bridges the gap between expectation and reality.

Forget - Don’t touch your draft for a few days. Take a vacation. A little procrastination is healthy. This is for you to ease into a new perspective.

Strictly consider - And reconsider every idea you introduce. Know that your work is entirely subjective and views vary with each reader. Write this down somewhere noticeable. Keep reminding yourself of the fact. That is when writing stops being enjoyable and starts being challenging. Short bursts of ideas are easy to reproduce and state. The trick is to write about an idea that is timeless.

Coherence - Now, check if the average reader can understand your paragraphs. This not merely about the language, but the flow and consistency of your own thoughts. Clarity in thought might be your first goal to accomplish. The paragraphs do the heavy lifting, and each must pass on to the next smoothly. Let them be coherent with your thoughts.

Talk to your fellow community writers- Here on Launchora, You could take your ideas, plots or worries to The Bar. A place to talk and discuss with anyone in the community. You just need to call out to the community.

The tricks do not stop. They are endless. The sheer number of things to keep track of while writing can easily overwhelm you. It feels safer to cap the pen. During such times, know that your mind is a stomach and has a limit to what it can digest. Look and choose the ones you want to try out first.

Keep working it out in bite-sized amounts. You will gradually complete the list.

So, Click on start writing and break out your pens and scratch your heads to get cracking at that story. The community waits to hear from you.

It is natural to get stuck while writing, and The Garage exists for the sole reason. Pour your worries into a cup and let your peers help you out with feedback and suggestions.