Editing uses the intellect, writing needs to access the instinct, which is easier said than done. I can comment freely on other people’s work and, I hope, encourage them; when I edit my own work I am frequently discouraged. I often think I’ve nothing worth saying, even for sympathetic Substack readers, but I comfort myself by working on a story, especially if there’s a crime involved. Just reaching for the words is good exercise, even if the little bastards stay out of ret.
Perhaps you are finding it hard to sit down to your own novel because you see, close up, what climb it all is. You don't have the luxury that debut (at least) fiction writers do of just not realising fully how long it is going to take, how many smacks to the face you are going to have to absorb, how many, many times you are going to have to adjust and re-write and get rid of that character because - sorry! just doesn't work. You know too much. But this is just a guess, maybe you're just fed up to the back teeth with words, I wouldn't blame you. In moments of despair I always tell myself two things: no writing is ever a waste of time. And, (I am quoting Rocky Balboa now), it's not how hard you can hit, it's how hard you can get hit, and still keep going forwards.
"being a writer is one long cycle of losing and finding." Oh wow how I love this line! I feel this deeply in both the literal sense ("where the hell are the notes I JUST wrote about this chapter/character/essay/poem?") and the figurative ("who am I and why am I doing this and WHY DO I THINK I CAN/SHOULD DO THIS?") Thank you for sharing, as always!
Katy!! I love this. I’ve been an in-house editor for more than 20 years, and you captured feelings I didn’t know I felt. The gardening metaphor is perfect, as is that feeling of losing your own ideas to the many hours of holding someone else’s. Editing is its own craft, and when I create for myself it can be hard to let go of the pruning to do the planting. Thank you for sharing these unedited thoughts. ❤️
I love the honesty! I am currently self editing my novel (4th draft!) and this was a much needed reminder of the challenges of the practice.
That last word was meant to be ‘reach’!
Editing uses the intellect, writing needs to access the instinct, which is easier said than done. I can comment freely on other people’s work and, I hope, encourage them; when I edit my own work I am frequently discouraged. I often think I’ve nothing worth saying, even for sympathetic Substack readers, but I comfort myself by working on a story, especially if there’s a crime involved. Just reaching for the words is good exercise, even if the little bastards stay out of ret.
Self-edit - that's really hard for any writer. Great to hear from the other side of the table...thanks Katy!.
Perhaps you are finding it hard to sit down to your own novel because you see, close up, what climb it all is. You don't have the luxury that debut (at least) fiction writers do of just not realising fully how long it is going to take, how many smacks to the face you are going to have to absorb, how many, many times you are going to have to adjust and re-write and get rid of that character because - sorry! just doesn't work. You know too much. But this is just a guess, maybe you're just fed up to the back teeth with words, I wouldn't blame you. In moments of despair I always tell myself two things: no writing is ever a waste of time. And, (I am quoting Rocky Balboa now), it's not how hard you can hit, it's how hard you can get hit, and still keep going forwards.
I love your unedited brain and words xxx
"being a writer is one long cycle of losing and finding." Oh wow how I love this line! I feel this deeply in both the literal sense ("where the hell are the notes I JUST wrote about this chapter/character/essay/poem?") and the figurative ("who am I and why am I doing this and WHY DO I THINK I CAN/SHOULD DO THIS?") Thank you for sharing, as always!
Katy!! I love this. I’ve been an in-house editor for more than 20 years, and you captured feelings I didn’t know I felt. The gardening metaphor is perfect, as is that feeling of losing your own ideas to the many hours of holding someone else’s. Editing is its own craft, and when I create for myself it can be hard to let go of the pruning to do the planting. Thank you for sharing these unedited thoughts. ❤️