"The writer who breeds more words than he needs,
is making a chore for the reader who reads.” Dr Seuss
"The best writing is rewriting." Anne Lamott
That’s the unedited version of the best advice I’ve received on editing, courtesy of Anne Lamott. The sanitized version is, “Give yourself permission to write poorly in your first draft.”
And I’m glad I get to go first with this prompt because I imagine there will be a few more Inscribe writers who would say the same thing.
When I first started blogging, a friend suggested reading Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. And ever since then, Anne has become a friend. She’s launching her next book this month and I’ve pre-ordered my copy so I could get a sneak peek. (Spoiler alert: more unsanitized words.)
Initial Drafts
Anne emphasized the importance of getting ideas down on paper without the paralyzing pressure of perfection. This initial draft, she argues, is just the beginning—a necessary step to be taken before the real work of writing begins. The first draft is just to get the story down; it does not need to be good, or even coherent.
Writing without editing is a discipline I‘ve struggled with for two decades. However, I fight the good fight with perfectionism.
My name is Bob and I'm a perfectionist.
“Perfectionism will ruin your writing, blocking inventiveness and playfulness and life force. Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground— you can still discover new treasures under all those piles, clean things up, edit things out, fix things, get a grip.” Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
The genius of an unedited first draft is it will free up more time to edit.
I don’t have superior thoughts or extraordinary talent. I have a great commitment to rewriting. Perhaps you don’t rewrite enough in part, because you don’t have enough time. But if you can cut your writing time in half and reallocate it to editing, you’ll be making a good start.
Getting that first draft onto the screen or paper without a critic sitting on my shoulder is difficult for me, too. Thank you for sharing Anne Lamott's wise words with us this morning, Bob.
ReplyDeleteAnne's a good one, eh?
DeleteLoved your post, Bob. And especially your last line, "But if you can cut your writing time in half and reallocate it to editing, you’ll be making a good start." I agree - it's good advice! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brenda. Good advice well applied leads to no regrets.
DeleteThanks for this wise advice on writing and revising, Bob. I've heard it said that it's best to write the first draft in one sitting (if it's a shorter work). Then the real work begins, as you said, "...But if you can cut your writing time in half and reallocate it to editing, you’ll be making a good start."
ReplyDeleteSo true, eh, Sandi? But it's counter intuitive. As I write I can see in real time how I could do better and I am so tempted to stop, rewrite and rewrite again and then I've lost the flow.
DeleteGreat post with lots of nuggets to tuck away. May your struggle to just get it all down get easier. We all benefit from the fruit of your ‘commitment to re-writing’ both in reading your posts and in reflecting upon our own level of commitment. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. I'm happy.you found useful nuggets. Write on.
DeleteWriter’s wisdom. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI find I have to get the words that are dropping into my heart down concretely or they disappear. This is difficult when they come in the middle of winter at the dog park or while I’m driving. I think I’ll remember but it’s never the original.
You are so right, Linda. My phone is my best friend for capturing thoughts in the raw.
DeleteThanks for another encouraging and challenging post, Bob. Just wondering how you know when the piece is actually finished?
ReplyDeleteGood question. A blog piece is finished when I have to meet a publication deadline. I will often go back and edit or update an online post, sometimes more than once. For print material it's finished when I have at least one other set of objective eyes on the piece before submitting.
DeleteLove this advice. It’s great to get the first version done, leave it, come back to it, leave it again, and then finish it. It’s like baking bread. You gotta stop and let it rise and breathe and grow before you can get your hands on it again. If you don’t stop and let the process work its way through, you have shitty bread too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and commenting. Love the tasty fresh bread analogy!
ReplyDelete