When I paint woodland animals or dinosaurs or trees or oceans, I have to trust that the brushstrokes will result in something akin to those four things. I can’t tell when I’m painting; I’m too close to the wall. All I see is colors blending together. It’s only when I step away from the wall and have some distance that I can see correctly. I see that I have, in fact, painted a sheep or a fox or a deer. The tree is convincing. The crashing waves actually look like crashing waves.
Writing through the Ugly Middle
A few weeks ago, I read a post about writing through the ugly middle. When a writer is in the midst of writing a draft, he or she can’t stop. The writer has to reach the end, even if the end is ugly or is a return to the beginning. The writer has to follow where the middle goes.
Consequences of Reaching the Next Level
Even though rock climbing scares me, I want to go back. I reached the next level, and I want to push myself more. I want to see if I can climb one of the other walls. It’s a consequence of reaching the next level. I get a rush of exhilaration whenever I accomplish something I thought I couldn’t.
How to Push Yourself to the Next Level
A few weeks ago, I went rock climbing. It’s an interesting choice because I have a slight fear of heights. I don’t volunteer to climb ladders. I don’t get excited by the idea of skydiving. No, I like to keep my feet on the ground.
Ingenious Title, Where Are You?
I hate titling my works. While I often begin a draft for a blog post with a title, I may edit the title more than I edit the post. My poems begin without titles. I get the words on the page, then I worry about a title.
How I Edit
For a creative person, the difference between reading “You suck!” and reading “Here’s where I think you made some wrong decisions” is the difference between being shamed into crawling under the covers and never putting their work out there ever again, and being encouraged to make their product better. We should always, always aim to do the latter. – Rian
I have an odd relationship with editing, primarily because I’ve followed different veins of it. I’ve been a copy editor for a newspaper (Ancient history, but still.). I’ve been an editor for a few journals, mostly ones from my undergraduate and graduate school days. I’ve also been an editor of other people’s writing, both their professional or creative work.