Editing Techniques to Take Your Writing to the Next Level! The - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Editing Techniques to Take Your Writing to the Next Level! The webinar will begin shortly!

Editing Techniques! Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. Anne Lamott I am a wrecker and maker of wordhouses. (Chronology of Water) Lidia Yuknavitch

Editing Techniques! This is how I read every book, article, personal essay and even poem. I keep notes of what I see. Where is the imagery leading me? You create this imagery naturally. These are the notes I want you to keep as you edit the pages in front of you.

Editing Techniques! Don’t be the Edit Queen (or King) Don’t edit while you write. Never let the inner critic intrude when you’re creating. This hinders your process. You get trapped in editing before you’ve written.

Editing Techniques! Questions to answer about your writing before editing: (if you’re earlier in the writing process, you may not have answers to all of these. No Problem. Keep them in mind as you write. 1. What is your story about? 2. Where does the story begin? 3. Where does it end? 4. How is it structured in between? 5. What is the subplot? (Answer in one sentence for each subplot.) 6. How does each subplot add to the main story? 7. Does each section contribute to the main plot or the subplots?

Editing Techniques! A BRIEF FOCUS ON STRUCTURE BEFORE BEGINNING Structure develops at different parts of the writing process It may also change. (eg Anne Lamott) The structure helps you determine the timeline. It helps you decide what happens next. It helps you form an outline (that can then be edited on plot and arc level).

Editing Techniques! TYPES OF STRUCTURE Description Braided Cause/Effect Comparison/Contrast Order Sequence Chronological Evaluative Problem/solution (And more. I don’t think there will ever be a finite list of structures)

Editing Techniques! Structure may change as you write. I repeat this, bc it’s easy to forget. What your story is “about” can exist in various structures. You have to find the one that works best for the elements of your story.

Editing Techniques! The Editing Pyramid Sentence level. The best way to express an idea or thought Looking at the piece as a whole: For tone, theme, metaphor, structure! We’ll come back to this later.

Editing Techniques! START AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID Tone Theme Metaphor Structure

Editing Techniques! METAPHORS & THEMES What’s the difference between metaphor and theme? What are the threads that appear throughout your pages? How does your “about” fit in? SUNSET EXAMPLE! What do you see? What’s there? Which add to the story? Which would you like to see more? Which don’t need to be there?

Editing Techniques! THE UNCONSCIOUS THAT HAPPENS AS YOU WRITE Things you overlooked completely. Things you want to change. Your images tell the wrong story. Characters become more or less important than you realized. A structure suggests itself. What else do you notice?

Editing Techniques! HOW TO EDITING WITH THIS TECHNIQUE? 1. Take notes as you read. (with or without a given focus) 2. What do they suggest to you? 3. Go back to the text to see if you find more information. 4. Write out what you learned. 5. Communicate it clearly to your editing partner.

Editing Techniques! 1. Take Notes You can follow one thread or just see what jumps out at you and where it leads you. Sentences that jump out at you as important. Images that draw you in. Metaphors you see repeating (directly or indirectly) What the characters represent to you. Language that strikes you or repeats (directly or indirectly) Anything else?

Editing Techniques! 2. What do these things tell you? When you see a series of images or metaphors or themes, what impression does that give you of the text? There is no right or wrong here. You are giving your reading. (You’ll be surprised how often you’ll get the same input from different readers.)

Editing Techniques! "I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another… then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes."

Editing Techniques! 3. Go back to the text for more information. When you go back to the writing, what else do you see? Does it reinforce your reading or take away? Or maybe adds nothing? Do you start to see various threads reinforce each other? Are there sections that seem extraneous? Is there more you’d like to see that isn’t there? Take notes on this to share later.

Editing Techniques! 4. Write Down what you learned This may seem tedious, but it reinforces your ideas. It helps you work through your thinking. You’ll also begin to see patterns form in your own thinking. Those patterns are something to share with your editing partner.

Editing Techniques! 5. Communicate what you understood to your partner This part takes some practice. It is perhaps the meat of all editing. How did the threads work together to give you the impression they gave? Which elements lead you to your conclusions? If something isn’t working, why? Too much? Too little? Something specific missing? This can be rather subtle at times and may require you to ask questions

Editing Techniques! How this technique helps you articulate your editing ideas. Example: The adoption chapter I read.

Editing Techniques! How following the Thread helps your writing It can show holes in your structure. It can show gaps in or highlight the arc of your characters. It can show your pacing (and suggest ways to adjust if needed) It mimics your plot development. It highlights your overall message. Allows you to show instead of tell.

Editing Techniques! How to use these Techniques earlier in the Writing Process (because I’m sure I’ve told you not to edit as you write) The images, ideas, language you follow in these threads help you decide what to do next. You’re adapting them earlier in the process. You give yourself direction and structure earlier.

Editing Techniques! EXAMPLES OF THEME/METAPHOR in STructure Monkey imagery applied to various characters in Alpha Monkey Water imagery in The Chronology of Water (taking control of the uncontrollable) Imagery of flowers in Sex and the City (Yes!) Character metaphors of Eddie and Karol in Riomaggiore

Editing Techniques! NOW, IT’s YOUR TURN! Choose a piece of writing to share with your partner. Read and try out the 5 steps from this webinar. Write notes. Meet with your editing partner to talk about your work. Then finally… edit your pages based on what you learned. Then post in The Writer’s Process On Monday, I’ll post my Riomaggiore story.