Just because these poems were typed up and turned in did not mean that the work on them was finished. The most horrible part of the writing process was just beginning, the revising process. I have always found this part of the process to be the most alcohol inducing of them all. When a writer completes a piece of work there is a great deal of pride that they feel. They feel this because writing is a journey. For most of my work this is not something that I just sat down and typed up. Instead it is something that has been floating around in my head for a good deal of time, and even though I know it can be improved, I still feel proud and extremely protective of the work. This is why there is always a bunch of anxiety when you send in your work to your editor. This is for a couple of reasons. First, you want them to like the work. No matter what someone says, they really do want to be recognized as being gifted and one of the ways that they receive this from other people is through compliments. Second, as a writer you have a vision and this is your vision alone, so to have someone else comment of what they think your vision is can be frustrating. Finally, as a writer I hate to change my work. Still, it is a necessary step in the writing process. So even though receiving notes from your editor can drive you to drink, cuss, and throw your computer out the window, I have found it is best to stop, take a deep breath, and realize a few things. First, the editor is a fan of your work. If they did not like your work their only note to you would be, “this is horrible, delete it and start over.” Though they don’t tell you they like the work, the fact that they are taking the time to read it and give you honest thoughts on the work is proof that they like the work. Second, the editor wants your vision to be seen by people as much as you do, so their notes are an objective way of being able to share your vision with everyone else. Their objectivity is what is most important because as a writer you lack objectivity because you are emotionally attached to the work. Finally, they themselves are often writers so they know how much work goes into the writing. They know that if you are not pushed to make these changes you will regret it later when you revisit the work, because you will have gained some objectivity and will see that you could have done better. The most important thing for me to remember as a writer is that this is not a journey I am on alone. This journey involves myself, my editor, and the work and without the editor and I working together the work will suffer. As a writer I have to be able to surrender my ego and realize that the editor and I are working together to make the work the best possible version of itself.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Essay Week 13 Me, My Editor, and the Work
When writing poetry I have always found it is best to not force the poem. By this I mean that I am unable to make myself be creative. For this class I chose to write poetry for my storybook, and this was a process that some weeks went rather quickly and other weeks extremely slow. For my first poem I thought about my topic for about two weeks. Throughout my day I would say phrases in my head and slowly but surely the poem was completed before I even sat down to type it out. This is a very natural way for me to write poetry. So the first poem in my storybook actually happened in a very organic way. My second poem, Sita’s Sonnet, didn’t come to me as easy. This was a poem that I struggled with more than any of the other poems. I knew what I wanted to say, but because I wrote it in the form of a sonnet, I was faced with many challenges that I did not face when writing the other poems. One of the challenges was trying to write a poem that told the story of Sita without breaking the meter. It is an extremely confining form that I chose to write this poem in, but I feel as if it was my most creative of the poems because I was forced to choose words that gave the most information. The third poem, and I feel the best of the group, was the easiest to write. There was no plan to writing this poem, I sat down at the computer and started typing and it just came out. My final poem and my least favorite of the group presented little challenge in writing. I feel that this is my least creative poem, though this poem may be the easiest to read by someone that is not familiar to the story.
Just because these poems were typed up and turned in did not mean that the work on them was finished. The most horrible part of the writing process was just beginning, the revising process. I have always found this part of the process to be the most alcohol inducing of them all. When a writer completes a piece of work there is a great deal of pride that they feel. They feel this because writing is a journey. For most of my work this is not something that I just sat down and typed up. Instead it is something that has been floating around in my head for a good deal of time, and even though I know it can be improved, I still feel proud and extremely protective of the work. This is why there is always a bunch of anxiety when you send in your work to your editor. This is for a couple of reasons. First, you want them to like the work. No matter what someone says, they really do want to be recognized as being gifted and one of the ways that they receive this from other people is through compliments. Second, as a writer you have a vision and this is your vision alone, so to have someone else comment of what they think your vision is can be frustrating. Finally, as a writer I hate to change my work. Still, it is a necessary step in the writing process. So even though receiving notes from your editor can drive you to drink, cuss, and throw your computer out the window, I have found it is best to stop, take a deep breath, and realize a few things. First, the editor is a fan of your work. If they did not like your work their only note to you would be, “this is horrible, delete it and start over.” Though they don’t tell you they like the work, the fact that they are taking the time to read it and give you honest thoughts on the work is proof that they like the work. Second, the editor wants your vision to be seen by people as much as you do, so their notes are an objective way of being able to share your vision with everyone else. Their objectivity is what is most important because as a writer you lack objectivity because you are emotionally attached to the work. Finally, they themselves are often writers so they know how much work goes into the writing. They know that if you are not pushed to make these changes you will regret it later when you revisit the work, because you will have gained some objectivity and will see that you could have done better. The most important thing for me to remember as a writer is that this is not a journey I am on alone. This journey involves myself, my editor, and the work and without the editor and I working together the work will suffer. As a writer I have to be able to surrender my ego and realize that the editor and I are working together to make the work the best possible version of itself.
Just because these poems were typed up and turned in did not mean that the work on them was finished. The most horrible part of the writing process was just beginning, the revising process. I have always found this part of the process to be the most alcohol inducing of them all. When a writer completes a piece of work there is a great deal of pride that they feel. They feel this because writing is a journey. For most of my work this is not something that I just sat down and typed up. Instead it is something that has been floating around in my head for a good deal of time, and even though I know it can be improved, I still feel proud and extremely protective of the work. This is why there is always a bunch of anxiety when you send in your work to your editor. This is for a couple of reasons. First, you want them to like the work. No matter what someone says, they really do want to be recognized as being gifted and one of the ways that they receive this from other people is through compliments. Second, as a writer you have a vision and this is your vision alone, so to have someone else comment of what they think your vision is can be frustrating. Finally, as a writer I hate to change my work. Still, it is a necessary step in the writing process. So even though receiving notes from your editor can drive you to drink, cuss, and throw your computer out the window, I have found it is best to stop, take a deep breath, and realize a few things. First, the editor is a fan of your work. If they did not like your work their only note to you would be, “this is horrible, delete it and start over.” Though they don’t tell you they like the work, the fact that they are taking the time to read it and give you honest thoughts on the work is proof that they like the work. Second, the editor wants your vision to be seen by people as much as you do, so their notes are an objective way of being able to share your vision with everyone else. Their objectivity is what is most important because as a writer you lack objectivity because you are emotionally attached to the work. Finally, they themselves are often writers so they know how much work goes into the writing. They know that if you are not pushed to make these changes you will regret it later when you revisit the work, because you will have gained some objectivity and will see that you could have done better. The most important thing for me to remember as a writer is that this is not a journey I am on alone. This journey involves myself, my editor, and the work and without the editor and I working together the work will suffer. As a writer I have to be able to surrender my ego and realize that the editor and I are working together to make the work the best possible version of itself.
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Hey Joe!! I totally understand what you mean about forcing poetry, or even any kind of creative writing. You really have to be in the mood for it, and if you aren't it can take hours to get a couple of lines or a couple hundred words. And when you expend so much effort in getting it right the first time, it seems an affront when people tell you that you need to change something. But (as much as we writers hate to admit it) there is always room for improvement, and taking a step back from our own work or viewing it through someone else's eyes is often a good way to raise the caliber of our writing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you seem to be talking from experience when you reference interactions with an editor here. . . Are you a published author/poet? Or working on becoming one? If so, congratulations! That's a great accomplishment!