Working on this personal essay about my brother pushed me to see flaws in my writing, how to get more clear about the story, and to get more comfortable with the editing process.
Thanks for sharing this. I am a new writer (or shall I say an older writer, newly putting my writing out in the world), and the thought of getting feedback is thrilling and terrifying both. It calmed me to hear how you experienced feedback and could frame it, all within the context of the actual story you were trying to write about (and re-live, not easy). So, just want you to know it was really helpful for me. I too am looking forward to the podcast!
Thank you much Sabrina! I am so glad my story resonates with you. I think it helped that my career as a writer (for tech companies) gave me thicker skin, but it's different b/c that's professional stuff, not personal... so it definitely felt more painful during certain parts of the editing process. Congrats on wanting to get your story out there. It's equal parts getting better at the craft and a mindset for things like editing and of course, sitting down to write!
Emotional resonance is difficult for EVERY WRITER—I have editorial letters that say over and over, "Show me the emotion!" Can't wait to hear the podcast episode.
Interesting! Curious how you're working on this and getting better on it? I actually bought an "Emotion Thesaurus" on Amazon last year and it sometimes helps when I'm stuck, but mostly, I'm like, how do I show this emotion without sounding too cliche? (i.e., My heart dropped, my pulse quickened, etc)
The Emotion Thesaurus is a great start! Whenever I feel like it gets too cliché, I revert back to the overall structure or arc of change in the piece. What is the flawed worldview in the character (or in this case, you) that keeps them from the goal or revelation at the end? What are the scenes or moments that support the theme or thread running throughout the piece? THEN you can go back and layer in the emotions within the sentence structure, now that you know your main goal.
Oh, I like that approach. I definitely hear you on the cliche stuff. Just thinking about how much work I need to do on the structure of my book makes me want to go on a very, very, very long walk. LOL
This post is soooooo good. And I'm not just saying that because I'm one of the WCR editors who slashed up the first draft. (The guys I taught in prison called these slashes BLOOD, bc I did them in red. I called them LOVE!). Getting edits has always been hard for me too. IN the beginning, I'd send Andrea (the other slasher) my essays and they'd come back destroyed. I took it as a personal attack. Sometimes I still do, and it's been 13 years. But, when I step away (go for a walk), I see them as love. Someone has taken the time to think about my writing. They want to help me get better. And I have because of the process (like you said.). But, the process is really painful. So, I apologize for the blood. I don't apologize for the LOVE. You are an amazing writer. The story you tell here on this post is so good. I hear your voice so clearly!! That needs to be in all your submissions and your memoir!!!
Thank you Allison, I feel so honored to have you and Andrea edit (sooo insightful) and push me harder to think and figure out what the story is about. Edits are hard to take for sure, but I definitely felt the love in all of your comments and questions! I am so grateful, thank you for spending time on all of the edits. I learn so much from First and Second Draft and the podcast. It's why I write about WCR so much on my Substack!! :D
It took a long time for me to find the right words to say, “I’m not tearing your work apart. I’m trying to help you let me in.” That’s all editing is, really. Letting someone prod and encourage you around the art of letting the rest of us in.
The specifics of emotions are interesting. I enjoy working with the specifics of motion, muscle movement, temperature, etc. It might be interesting to isolate one of those items and write them down as you notice them in yourself and others. I like details such as how someone bites their lip and looks sideways when the music is too loud in the car. It tells us something about the person, but not everything.
Hi Amanda - I agree and I also like the details of someone biting their lip and looking sideways. I know there are other ways to express emotion when you're writing—sometimes I just forget and get caught up with "my pulse quickened, a lump in my throat" ... my writing classmate had a good one about when she was having a hard time as a mom of young kids. She wrote that she went into the bathroom to hide and that all she wanted to do was listen to a podcast or scroll social media. I forget that the reader can gain a sense of the narrator's emotions with those small, but very specific descriptions.
Thank you for sharing this deeply personal story and wonderful realizations. You were open to the criticism which many writers can’t handle. It so important.
Thanks for sharing this. I am a new writer (or shall I say an older writer, newly putting my writing out in the world), and the thought of getting feedback is thrilling and terrifying both. It calmed me to hear how you experienced feedback and could frame it, all within the context of the actual story you were trying to write about (and re-live, not easy). So, just want you to know it was really helpful for me. I too am looking forward to the podcast!
Thank you much Sabrina! I am so glad my story resonates with you. I think it helped that my career as a writer (for tech companies) gave me thicker skin, but it's different b/c that's professional stuff, not personal... so it definitely felt more painful during certain parts of the editing process. Congrats on wanting to get your story out there. It's equal parts getting better at the craft and a mindset for things like editing and of course, sitting down to write!
Emotional resonance is difficult for EVERY WRITER—I have editorial letters that say over and over, "Show me the emotion!" Can't wait to hear the podcast episode.
Interesting! Curious how you're working on this and getting better on it? I actually bought an "Emotion Thesaurus" on Amazon last year and it sometimes helps when I'm stuck, but mostly, I'm like, how do I show this emotion without sounding too cliche? (i.e., My heart dropped, my pulse quickened, etc)
The Emotion Thesaurus is a great start! Whenever I feel like it gets too cliché, I revert back to the overall structure or arc of change in the piece. What is the flawed worldview in the character (or in this case, you) that keeps them from the goal or revelation at the end? What are the scenes or moments that support the theme or thread running throughout the piece? THEN you can go back and layer in the emotions within the sentence structure, now that you know your main goal.
I hope that helps!
Oh, I like that approach. I definitely hear you on the cliche stuff. Just thinking about how much work I need to do on the structure of my book makes me want to go on a very, very, very long walk. LOL
This post is soooooo good. And I'm not just saying that because I'm one of the WCR editors who slashed up the first draft. (The guys I taught in prison called these slashes BLOOD, bc I did them in red. I called them LOVE!). Getting edits has always been hard for me too. IN the beginning, I'd send Andrea (the other slasher) my essays and they'd come back destroyed. I took it as a personal attack. Sometimes I still do, and it's been 13 years. But, when I step away (go for a walk), I see them as love. Someone has taken the time to think about my writing. They want to help me get better. And I have because of the process (like you said.). But, the process is really painful. So, I apologize for the blood. I don't apologize for the LOVE. You are an amazing writer. The story you tell here on this post is so good. I hear your voice so clearly!! That needs to be in all your submissions and your memoir!!!
Thank you Allison, I feel so honored to have you and Andrea edit (sooo insightful) and push me harder to think and figure out what the story is about. Edits are hard to take for sure, but I definitely felt the love in all of your comments and questions! I am so grateful, thank you for spending time on all of the edits. I learn so much from First and Second Draft and the podcast. It's why I write about WCR so much on my Substack!! :D
It took a long time for me to find the right words to say, “I’m not tearing your work apart. I’m trying to help you let me in.” That’s all editing is, really. Letting someone prod and encourage you around the art of letting the rest of us in.
The specifics of emotions are interesting. I enjoy working with the specifics of motion, muscle movement, temperature, etc. It might be interesting to isolate one of those items and write them down as you notice them in yourself and others. I like details such as how someone bites their lip and looks sideways when the music is too loud in the car. It tells us something about the person, but not everything.
Hi Amanda - I agree and I also like the details of someone biting their lip and looking sideways. I know there are other ways to express emotion when you're writing—sometimes I just forget and get caught up with "my pulse quickened, a lump in my throat" ... my writing classmate had a good one about when she was having a hard time as a mom of young kids. She wrote that she went into the bathroom to hide and that all she wanted to do was listen to a podcast or scroll social media. I forget that the reader can gain a sense of the narrator's emotions with those small, but very specific descriptions.
Thank you for sharing this deeply personal story and wonderful realizations. You were open to the criticism which many writers can’t handle. It so important.
Thank you for reading. As Allison (my writing teacher) put it, "Edits are love." :D
Great quote.