Labouring over the Words by Mary Folkerts

 

Writing can be like birthing a baby into the world; no two labour stories are the same. Some babies arrive before they are expected, while some are long overdue. Some babies come relatively easily, and some have a complicated delivery. My babies, for instance, always came long after "the plan", as if they were little perfectionists in the womb, not presenting themselves until they were as right as rain! This, to their mother's chagrin!

The words that pour from our hearts onto paper can feel like precious “babies”, as often they are birthed in vulnerability and pain. It can hurt to strike through words that we struggled over, or that we thought sounded just right, but to make a good piece of writing great, it takes editing.

What’s the right amount of editing to do on a written piece? How do you know when it’s good enough to hit send? The answers to these questions may vary depending on what you are writing, be it a blog piece, a submission, or a manuscript.

When I need to write for a deadline, it can sometimes feel like I’m trying to wring water out of a dry sponge. Writing comes easier for me when I get hit by a wave of inspiration, a sentiment I’m sure most writers share. But even as the deadline looms, and I sit staring at the words slowly leaking onto the page, the mind begins to lubricate, and the ideas slowly form.

Once the ideas have begun to gel into a cohesive piece, I read it through and edit as I go. I love using my Grammarly Pro editor to help me identify mistakes and make my sentences flow more smoothly. I use it as a tool, but I don’t rely on it alone.

If I have time, I like to leave what I wrote to simmer. I will come back in a day and reread my words for further edits. I read it out loud and have someone else read and critique. Second eyes often catch things that I missed.

Editing is an essential part of excellent writing, but I don’t want to get hung up on writing the perfect piece. And though I go through deleting words, changing phrases, and adding commas, I must never edit out my voice to make it sound like someone else’s. My voice is what makes my writing unique, as your voice makes your writing what it is. We each have our way of telling the story God gave us to share.

And sometimes it’s just time to hit send!


Words fall on my heart,
like drops of rain
soaking the parched earth–
a collection of words
spoken
from lips that sought to encourage,
drawn up from the recesses of my mind
words
committed to memory
returning
in moments of drought.

There is no expiration date
on the power words carry
like rain,
they revive the wilted flower
whose head is bent
low–
Let the words of my mouth
linger like
sustenance.

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a Proverbs 31 ministries COMPEL Writers Training member involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/

Editing??? Not Me, Not Now!! by Brenda J Wood

Editing? The farthest thing from my mind. I never edit ever. While I am writing, I write. I scribble the words. I flurry them onto computer paper. I sense the urgency of my message. Editing??? Editing destroys my thinking. Editing destroys the flow of my words. Editing too soon disrupts the energy of the thought. 

There is no room for correction in the middle of a task.

Suppose while a child put the dishes away, you holler at them for putting the plate on top of a saucer or a cup where the tea set belongs? That sounds foolish, doesn’t it? No child would do that and you would disrupt their thought and then they’d be stirring things and putting things and correcting things. Instead of actually getting the dishes out of the dishwasher.

That’s what happens when you edit too soon. Your perfection life takes over the higgledy-piggledy thoughts from your grammar teacher and intercepts your brilliant thesis. You stop and dot the i's and eliminate spelling mistakes or get distracted by the dictionary. Or Siri is trying to tell you how to correct the spelling mistake, and the thought you had about that peculiar little child sitting in sand by the side of the road; the story you were telling; the life you were living inside your head is gone.

This is why I never ever edit while I write. Editing is for later when all of the heat of the word is on the page; then and then only do you go back and edit. And just so you know, once you start to edit there is no end because we are picky beyond picky and most readers won’t even notice.

Top) Image by Jeshoots-com from Pixabay

Brenda J Wood has authored more than fifty books. She is a seasoned motivational speaker, who declares the Word of God with wisdom, humour, and common sense.