Honest moment here. I had big plans for getting through a major chuck on the writing during my December break, but didn’t quite see the progress I was hoping for.
Turns out, part of the story has been missing. And it took my morning session with Write Your Novel and the chapter on writing compelling scenes for me to finally recognize it. I’ve been so focused on one character’s part of the story that I hadn’t taken time to sit and listen to another’s. And here I’ve been wondering why it feels like those first few chapters read like a bottle of ginger ale that’s been sitting on the counter for too long. The flavor is still good, but it’s lacking the fizz.
Now that I know what I’m missing, I’m going to spend the next few days listening—and I mean really listening—to that particular character so that we can iron out those wrinkles in the story thus far.
Funny thing is, I’ve been feeling the same way about today’s post.
I’ve been struggling, trying to figure out what I wanted to share with you and why. I even tried to imagine you sitting across the table from me. That’s when it hit me, part of the problem I’m having is that I feel like I’ve been talking non-stop, and I haven’t really taken a breath long enough to let you get a word into the conversation.
I know. You’re not really here at the table with me. And I do try to read through many of your posts and comment whenever possible. But it’s not the same thing, really. It’s still largely one-sided.
How listening affects the writing and editing process
As an editor, I learned early on that there is a lot more to what we do than looking for typos, awkward or unclear sentences, and characters who are wearing pants in one sentence and skirts in the next. We also have to learn to hear the author’s voice. Your voice. Not just on the page, but in life.
Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, fantasy or poetry, what you believe at the core of your being is going to find its way into everything you write.
This is one of the reasons readers often feel like they know their favorite authors, even if they’ve never met in person. The act of writing and reading is, in a sense, a co-mingling of souls. It’s a process in which we discover kindred spirits, and sometimes, it’s a process in which we meet someone and decide right away that we have little in common and walk away.
The hardest thing about writing is that it’s largely a single-sided conversation with the reader. But if we do it right, if we consider our audience’s needs as well as our own, it can feel like we’re sitting next to each other having a real—and sometimes, profound—conversation.
But we have to learn to listen.
As an editor, I often find myself in a delicate balancing act of safeguarding and preserving the author’s voice and keeping in mind the needs of the book’s intended audience. Sometimes that balance is already there, and sometimes I really have to dig deep to find it.
I think that’s why I enjoy developmental editing the most out of the projects I take on. Because I get the opportunity to work closely with the author, to listen to their plans and goals, to learn about why they’re so passionate about this particular WIP, and dream with them about the future of their story and the readers who will one day pick it up.
What kind of dreams do you have for your current story? Is there a certain reader you have in mind who will one day read it so many times the pages start to separate from their binding? Deciding that now while you’re writing will pay dividends when it comes time to edit your book.
Speaking of listening, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Comments are open below.
Jen
Image by Andrew Lloyd Gordon from Pixabay