Re-Write! by Andrea Kidd

Today we are pleased to welcome Andrea Kidd as our Guest Blogger. We hope you will enjoy reading how she tackles her rewriting tasks.

I want to write. I love getting into a piece, scribbling down ideas as they are fresh. It’s exhilarating and energizes me for other tasks that are not so fun.

I have an article that is due – soon! The problem is that I have no idea what I want to write about. I long to be at that place where I have the idea and I am running with it, but right now I am stuck in the mud. I go to my desk and quickly scan ideas scratched hurriedly on the backs of envelopes because I didn’t have time to write about it just then. Next I lace up my walking shoes and ramble off down the road and along a trail. My mind wanders; I listen to squawking baby magpies, smell newly mown grass, and gaze at gathering storm clouds. As I stroll back home a writing idea floats to mind. The idea crystalizes into solid words. I try to memorize those specially chosen verbs and adjectives.

Sitting at the kitchen table, with a mug of freshly brewed coffee, I spill those words and many more onto sheets of scrap paper. (They will be tossed into the recycling bin later, so no need for perfection here!)

My spirit is lifted, I am happy to be alive and content to clean the bathroom and fix lunch.

Next day, I settle with my computer and type up those hastily written pages. No changes! No editing! But doubts unsettle me. Who is going to be interested in a piece about my coffee pot! That is so mundane! I make a definite decision to dump doubts aside. Words are typed, given a title, saved and filed. Job done!

The deadline for submission is coming closer, so I am motivated to take a second look at that rough draft.

The idea is sound, but it meanders, cluttered with unnecessary words. I prune and lop. Words, even a sentence or paragraph go into the compost pile to fertilize some other piece some other time. Now the idea has room to grow and become strong and healthy.

Only a few days to the deadline and I read through to see how my idea is growing now that it has had time and space to flourish. It is short, curt, chopped. The blunt ends jar the reader. And my reader deserves a strong idea that is flourishing with new growth with the potential of satisfying fruit and seeds that will propagate more growth when this piece dies a natural death.

Those verbs need refreshing water to spread into lush phrases that grow pictures in the reader’s mind. Nouns given a well-placed adjective stimulate the idea with vibrant life. The original idea is now taking on a pleasing shape, but that’s enough digging and watering and fertilizing for now!

A good piece of writing takes time to mature; it absorbs the nutrients necessary for a strong, lasting understanding in the writer’s mind. Only then does it become firm and strong, ready to share with readers.

Still there is other steps before it leaves my desk and is set free from me to fly and bear fruit in this world.

First I read through the piece, as if I were a reader reading it for the first time. Edit as needed.

Check all spelling, accuracy of facts, grammar and punctuation marks. Edit as needed.

Give it to a second reader or two. Edit as needed.

Send!

Photo credit: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Andrea Kidd writes to open readers (including herself) to recognize Jesus walking by their side in the ordinary and extraordinary events of daily life. She contributes regularly to the High Country News published and distributed in the Foothills of Alberta and on Substack: andreakidd.substack.com

My Path to Revision by Sandi Somers

 

In this month’s prompt, Lorrie Orr asked us to write about our revising and editing process. Her prompt has given me a lot of thought. I’ve written on revising, but don't think I've ever written a “how I write” article. It’s a new sub-genre for me.

Formulating a work. I usually start with a personal story that leads into a reflection. I first ask the Lord for clear and integrated ideas. The more clarity I have, the easier the revision process becomes.

However, if my ideas aren't solidified or are scattered, revision turns out to be more complex. For this post, it was difficult to discover that entry point, and it took several tries to find one.

Discovering the structure. Structuring doesn’t always come easy for me. I relate to what Annie Dillard wrote in The Writing Life:

“A work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts to a wild state overnight…It is a lion you cage in your study. As the work grows, it gets harder to control; it is a lion growing in strength. You must visit it every day and reassert your mastery over it.”

One key I’ve learned is that each piece of writing is unique, needing to be organized and developed according to its purpose and meaning. I often follow the wisdom of the Estonian Proverb, “The work will teach you how to do it.” I learn as I go along.

What does this developmental process entail? Cutting away extraneous ideas. Filling in black holes. Rearranging sequence to make it flow. Sharpening the intro. Clarifying ideas. Discovering a satisfying, uplifting conclusion.

Refining. Once I have the basic structure sorted out, I can better visualize the whole article. I know I’m well on my way to polishing it. However, every revision needs several reworkings. I write and revise, write and revise. I’m no different from other writers. It has been said that Billy Graham revised his sermons up to twelve times. Ernest Hemingway once said that he revised the ending of one of his books 39 times. Someone asked him why. “To get the words right,” he answered.

Refining means reshaping my thoughts, adding the five senses to make it come alive, reworking sentences, and developing insights that add depth and meaning (and for me, attacking my nemesis—repeating the same words). Fact checking is necessary where needed. Setting it aside for a few days or weeks, if possible, brings a new freshness to my words. Throughout the whole process, I’ve started using my “Read aloud” link to smooth over unexpected ruts.

Finishing. Vaclav Havel, the once-playwright who became president of the Czech Republic, summarized the revision process beautifully:

... how to make it more precise, what to add, how to balance it, how to enrich it, and how to give it greater stylistic elegance.

Coming to the place where an item “sings” gives me great joy. Then pressing “Send” is, as one writer said, like delivering a baby. The work is finished. My prayers go out to my future readers.

Relying on the Lord’s guidance. I’ve often thought of how some authors say they saturate their writing with prayers. This post has brought to the fore how much more I need to ask the Lord for specific guidance at each step, for each day’s tasks. His structure. His refinement. His message to my readers. He is faithful and will do it.

Sandi Somers writes mostly nonfiction—essays, devotions, and inspirational articles. Her purpose is to encourage and inspire her readers to become devoted followers of Jesus. She writes from her home in Calgary.

Stages of Writing by Lorrie Orr

 

This month's prompt has to do with editing our writing. The phrase “the rewrite rut” was coined by Caroline Sharp in A Writer’s Workbook. How much do you rewrite? Do you enjoy it? How many drafts do you write before letting your work go off into the ether? Is it difficult to let it go? 

You’ve worked long hours writing, writing, writing. That’s what makes you a writer. But what are the next steps? If you or I want our writing to be read, to be published, there is much work ahead.

I’m currently working on the third draft of a major writing project, a memoir of twenty-one years spent in Ecuador. When people ask about the writing, they are aghast that I am on my third draft. What I want to tell them is that I foresee at least two more run-throughs before I’m done.

I recently read Cathy Rentzenbrink’s book Write It All Down, in which she gives excellent advice for how to write, rewrite, and edit. I highly recommend her book and am using some of her advice as a guideline for my own writing.

My first task was to get my words down without that pesky critic in my head interfering. Before any editing can take place, there must be material to work with. What has resulted is a rough and shapeless mass of words. Too many words.   

Shaping the structure begins with lots of cutting. Oh, how it hurts to let go of those lovely paragraphs, the scenes that don’t really move my story forward, and lyrical descriptions. Truman Capote said, “I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.” For each edit I create a new copy of my document, allowing those cuttings to stay on my computer for future use.

I had thought I was ready for a line edit, my favourite part of writing, but as it turns out, more structural work is needed - a scene edit – where I list each scene in each chapter to see where it fits best, or if it needs to be cut.

Sebastian Faulks writes, “You need to think about every word in every sentence at least ten times.” That takes time and concentration. I like to read my work out loud to see how the words flow. Awkward phrasing is re-worked. Adjectives and adverbs are ruthlessly cut unless they show something that will otherwise be unknowable.

It’s too easy for me to write and rewrite, cut, and edit, and never gather enough courage to release an article or a story to a possible audience. Sending my words out is like a child leaving home. Will my effort be loved and accepted by someone? Each time I push that send button, or mail a manuscript, I send a little piece of myself. And each time I do, I pray that God will use those words as He sees fit. I breathe a sigh of release (and relief) knowing that the One who gave me my words can be trusted with them.

 

 

Lorrie Orr writes and rewrites from her home on Vancouver Island. 

God, Giraffes & Grace by Leila Carr

We are delighted to welcome Leila Carr today as our Guest Blogger. We hope you will enjoy reading about her own expression of kindness towards her three-year-old granddaughter. It felt like a window into God's kindness towards his children.

As I read Brenda Leyland's April 7th post entitled Bumping Into God's Kindness, a familiar emotional response arose—what many describe as "a lump in the throat." Brenda spoke of God's kindness as she learned to trust in his goodness, running to him not from him. She shared how he later eased her troubled mind by showing her a picture of her precious Kitty near the end of her life, resting in his hands.

I am pleased to be a guest contributor here at InScribe where I can share with the community some joy in growth from my own journey. While I have long since received understanding and restoration from the effects of a shame-based childhood, these poignant lines Brenda prepared touched me deeply, as this physical response testified to. What happened next as I continued reading sent tears down my cheeks. Along with this watershed came a memory—no, much more than that—an experience I had rarely thought of.

Several years ago, my preschool grandchildren came to spend an impromptu afternoon with me while their parents took care of some errands. Grandparents among us who are three or more decades removed from the intensity of child-raising understand the potential tornado effect of wee ones full of vitality and curiosity turned loose. Every nook and cranny becomes a space to be explored.

Such was that brisk afternoon. As my back was turned retrieving one half of that twinado who had laid siege on the pantry wares, a thunderous breaking glass sound erupted. There was no time for thought or reaction before the shrill scream of a three-year-old pierced the air with "GRANDMA!!" This was rapidly followed by loud wailing and then the appearance of a three-foot-tall distraught youngster toting a head in each of her hands with some rather irregular shaped necks of two formerly intact, goodly sized ceramic giraffes.

For her, this was an emotionally startling, devastating emergency. Startling because all the giraffes in her life had always been stuffies like her best friend from the popular Jellycat brand, named "Student." And devastating because of shock and fear. How did this happen, and now what is going to happen to ME?

As soon as we set the now "rest in peace" giraffe pieces down, we snuggled until comfort restored her to calmness. In the midst of this embrace, I forged a plan with her to start a whole new ceramic giraffe collection. Yes, each time we found ourselves in a giraffe kind of store, we would (hands off) interview giraffes to see whether they would be suited to coming to live at Grandma's house.

As I began the clean up of the ceramic situation my little explorer's joy was heard to be restored as she giggled with her brother who had by now discovered the whereabouts of their favourite sour jelly candy.

I am so grateful over time to have received transformation from shame to grace. One of the finest gifts of the spirit is to be able to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

(Top)Photo credit: Leila Carr

Leila lives in Edmonton, AB, currently re-imagining a new chapter of retirement. She enjoys nature walks, non fiction in general, and especially biography.