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Guest Posts

Sculpting a Masterpiece

The beautiful prose that came to mind in the shower somehow transformed into clunky sentences by the time I got to the computer. The more I wrestled with the words, the more unwieldy they became.

I have often read that true writing is in the rewriting. Most of us are not satisfied with a first draft. We know it takes several passes before writing is shaped into something acceptable to show others

Yet I get frustrated going over and over sentences trying to make them both clear and winsome. Why is my thinking so muddled? Why do I take so many words to say what I mean?

Wordy written in red by my teacher often adorned my school compositions.

The person who performed my first paid critique mentioned my “long, convoluted sentences.”

My husband told me after we had dated for a while that he used to wonder when I’d get to the point when I told a story. (After being married for 40 years, I’ve learned to jump to the main point first, especially when talking about the car or an appliance. Otherwise, he spends my whole narrative wondering what he’s going to have to fix.)

Yet, I’ve received enough encouraging feedback from my writing that I am not totally without hope. And now that I am aware of my writing mistakes, I can battle them with determination and knowledge.

I’m encouraged by a legend concerning Michelangelo. Supposedly, someone asked him how he got the statue of David out of a hunk of marble. The artist is rumored to have said, “I just cut away everything that’s not David.”

Before we can create a work of art, we’ve got to drag out our hunk of marble. As many have said, we can edit a bad page, but we can’t edit a blank one. The marble that Michelangelo used had previously been considered and rejected by two other sculptors. He saw the potential in it that others missed.

So we dump the words in our head onto paper. We study the craft of writing and learn ways to “write tight.” We carve away unnecessary words and cumbersome descriptions. We chisel adverbs and polish with stronger verbs.  We sand away passive verbs in favor of active ones. We brush away clutter. We chip off  multitudes of facts and illustrations and keep only the most poignant ones. And we can pray with the Apostle Paul, “that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak” (Colossians 4:4).

Visualizing excess verbiage as clumps of rough stone adorning the statue of David helps encourage me to get rid of clutter-words in my writing.

A statue as detailed as David takes time to sculpt, and so does editing. Blaise Pascal once wrote in a letter, “I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.” But the time is well worth it.

We might not become the Michelangelo of words. But we can sculpt our manuscripts as close to a masterpiece as possible.


Barbara Harper lives with her husband of 40 years in Knoxville, TN. They raised three sons, one of whom added a lovely daughter-in-law and an adorable grandson to the family. Barbara loves reading, writing, and card-making. She has blogged for almost 14 years at https://barbaraleeharper.com/. She wrote a newsletter for women at her church for 15 years as well as magazine articles, newspaper columns, and guest blog posts. One of her passions is encouraging women to get into the Word of God for themselves. She’s currently working on her first book-length project.

Categories
The Picky Pen

How to Think Like an Editor Part 2

Writing is a funny art because agents and editors (freelance and publishing house) tell us to write, write, write . . . and to make sure that our manuscript is edited well. “Edited well?” What if we don’t like the word editing because it’s too daunting? What if our minds turn to jelly or we seize up when an agent or mentor tells us to edit our manuscript?

Well. Editing doesn’t have to be so intimidating, daunting, or scary because it’s really another piece of the writing process. Before sending our manuscript to a freelance editor or mentor (or even critique group), we need to make sure that our manuscript is fluid. Simply, we edit to make sure our manuscript is ready for the public eye. How do we think like an editor when we aren’t one? I’ll give you some more tips on how to think like an editor. Ready?

Three More Rules for Thinking Like an Editor

4. Is the point of view clear in my story?

Who is doing the “seeing,” or telling the story, anyway? As a contest judge and having read over 100 books this year, an issue I see a lot is a wobbly point of view. And, granted, it’s so easy to overlook, especially since there are so many points of view we can use in our manuscripts. There’s first person, second person, third person, third person omniscient, omniscient, and—are you confused? Take heart. I was too before I really sat down with someone and they talked me through the differences, and then did some googling to make sure I really understood.

Best rule of thumb here: whichever character you choose to tell the story, that character must experience the story unfolding in those scenes. What does this mean? This means that that character you choose must see, hear, touch, taste, and smell, as well as perceive what’s going on in the current situation. If Mabel is your protagonist, you cannot describe Jacob tying his shoe when he’s behind Mabel because she cannot see what’s behind her. Now, she might be able to hear noises, and you can describe those. If there are too many people “talking,” the story gets muddled, and our readers won’t know who to root for.

5. Is my manuscript well researched?

Ew. Please don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me! While I realize not everyone enjoys research, it’s important for our books to be well researched. Why? Because if we use the word “bulbous” in our 1577 medieval fantasy manuscript or refer to saddle shoes in our 1929 novel, our knowledgeable readers may snap the book shut, and their investment in our story comes to an abrupt end. Or, if we have our character walking through a door before he’s opened it shows that we haven’t researched the sequence of the action. These may seem like unimportant details, however, small as they are, these details add credibility to yourself as an author—and makes you think like an editor. And it truly is the difference between the Victrola and an MP3.

6. Is the manuscript tightly written?

If you’re anything like me, I’m imagining a 300- or 500-page manuscript stuffed into a miniature straight jacket. Well . . . not quite. But that’s the idea. By “tightly written,” this means that every detail, dialogue, and plot thread in your manuscript connects to the overarching theme and overall message of your story.

For instance, if Sassy had not gone with Chance and Shadow (Disney’s Homeward Bound), that sarcastic element would not have made poor Chance’s misadventures humorous or empathetic; or if Shadow had had an elderly woman’s voice, he might not have been endearing to viewers. (I am not downgrading male or female voiceovers here.) The tired, old man voice fits Shadow’s personality, as well as the storyline.

Now let’s apply it to a sentence or two of writing. In these sentences, our character’s goal is to get from the house to the barn to play with the new baby goats that are a few weeks old.

Original:

Helen set the cup down on the table and scooted her chair back. She put on her jacket and headed out to the barn, where the tiny bleats sent a pitter patter through her chest.

Tight rewrite (keeping only necessary details for our character’s goal in this scene):

Helen set her cup on the table and scooted her chair back. As she shrugged into her jacket, she ran to the barn. Tiny bleats sent a pitter patter through her.

Did you catch the smaller details that were left out because they did not propel this scene forward?

Keep in mind that every author and editor has their own style, preferences, and idiosyncrasies for what they like in a story. The bottom line is to make sure your writing shows what is the most important for the story’s that on your heart. And if you write like an editor, you will have a much stronger story that creates a fabulous reading experience for your readers.

Please join in the discussion! I’d love to hear from you!

Take a few minutes and ruminate. What are some other ways you can think like an editor?

Tisha Martin is a writer and editor, and she lives to encourage authors and editors to bridge their relationships and work together for the publishing industry cause, where readers will treasure books for always. With a bachelor’s in Professional Writing, a master’s in English Education, and an editing certificate from the PEN Institute, she has equal passions for writing and editing. Active in ACFW and The PEN, she appreciates both communities. She is the former Assistant Director of PENCON, a conference for professional editors. She’s also a judge for Writer’s Digest. When she’s not editing, Tisha blogs about writing, editing, theater, horses, and American home front history at www.tishamartin.com. She looks forward to the conversation with you!