Dave Milbrandt - Painting with Words
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Books
  • High School Declassified

Painting with Words

Write, Edit, Repeat

7/23/2014

1 Comment

 
Now that I have finished writing the core of my latest manuscript, the time has come for the editing process. Several friends are reviewing the work to offer their critiques and then 2–3 rounds of editing will occur. While this step may sound boring, and a few years ago I would have agreed, I have come to enjoy the editing process.

The most important reason editing is necessary is to improve the quality of the work. When I write, I do so quickly, performing scant editing along the way. Some days I feel like a 5-year-old trying to paint a house. I probably used the right color, but you can be sure there are several spots that need to be redone before I show my work off to others. Similarly, to get the best manuscript possible takes time and, quite often, the insight of others. In addition to removing the grammatical and typographical errors, I want to cut out extemporaneous verbiage and rework tired phrases. My question is not “Did I say it well?” but “Is this the best way to say what I have to say?” Obviously, these queries often elicit radically different responses.

Roman poet Marcus Fabius Quintilianus spoke to this issue in AD 65 when he said: “Prune what is turgid, elevate what is commonplace, arrange what is disorderly, introduce rhythm where the language is harsh, modify where it is too absolute.” 

One of the hidden benefits of the editing process is it reminds me I am not as good a writer as I imagine myself to be. Revising a work again and again is an exercise in humility. Your initial thoughts may have been sounded good in your head, and seemed fine upon early review, but when you look at a work again and again you learn how much you have to grow, as a writer and a person. You have nightmares about mistakes infesting your work like termites in an old attic. Not surprisingly, Quintilianus had something to say about this as well.

“The best method of correction is to put aside for a time what we have written, so that when we come to it again it may have an aspect of novelty, as of being another man’s work; in this way we may preserve ourselves from regarding our writings with the affection we lavish upon a newborn child.”

I suppose there is another similarity between writing and newborns – both need to be changed from time to time to keep them fresh.
1 Comment

    Author

    I've been writing stories and taking photos since I was old enough to hold a pencil and stand behind a tripod.

    Archives

    June 2022
    April 2022
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    October 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    April 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    Action Adventure
    Alex Winter
    Ally Carter
    American History
    Apple
    Atticus Finch
    Bible
    Bill Clinton
    Bill & Ted Face The Music
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Blog Tour
    Book Launch
    Book Tour
    Branding
    Bravery
    By The Lion Arts
    Cage Runner
    Cara Putman
    CelebrateLit
    Change
    Characters
    Chosen People
    Comedy
    Creative Process
    Davis Bunn
    Delayed Justice
    Determination
    Divergent
    Editing
    Embassy Row
    Emissary
    Fantasy
    Fatherhood
    Finn
    Fool's Luck
    Gallagher GIrls
    Gene Doucette
    Go Set A Watchman
    Gospel
    Hannah Thomas
    Harper Lee
    Heirs Of The Founders
    Heist Society
    Heroes
    Hidden Among The Stars
    Hidden Justice
    History
    Hope
    Humility
    Hunger Games
    H.W. Brands
    James Patterson
    Jean Louise Finch
    John Grisham
    Keanu Reeves
    Kristin Hannah
    Kylo Ren
    Launch Team
    Legal Fiction
    Luke Skywalker
    Marketing
    Melanie Dobson
    Narrative Beats
    Nonfiction
    Not If I Save You First
    Nyxia
    Nyxia Unleashed
    Obi-Wan Kenobi
    Olympics
    Opportunity
    Patience
    Pen Names
    Perspective
    Poe Dameron
    Presidency
    Promotions
    Publicity
    Public Speaking
    Publishing
    Research
    #Revelation
    Rey
    Richard Bachman
    Robert Whitlow
    Robin Carrol
    Romance
    Rose TIco
    Running
    Sacrifice
    San Dimas HIgh School
    Sand Runner
    Science Fiction
    Scott Reintgen
    Scout Finch
    Screenwriting
    Shel Silverstein
    Star Trek
    Star Trek: Discovery
    Star Wars
    Stephen King
    Storytelling
    Stratagem
    Suspense
    Techno Thriller
    Techno-thriller
    Teddy Roosevelt
    Thanksgiving
    The First American
    The Great Alone
    The Last Jedi
    The Nightingale
    The Orville
    The President Is Missing
    The Pultizer Prize
    The Reckoning
    The Spaceship Next Door
    Thomas Locke
    Titles
    To Kill A Mockingbird
    Traitor To His Class
    Vera Brook
    Vice Admiral Holdo
    Writing
    Young Adult Litertature

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Books
  • High School Declassified