Soon I will be on with the final, final edit of ‘From Russia With Tassels.’ Once I get a working copy back from my editor. As such editing is a different skill set to normal writing I have been doing a lot of editing of other part-works over the last few weeks to ‘get my eye in’ for want of a better term. I both love and loathe editing in equal measure, and occasionally find myself in need of a little inspiration from the worthy and the wise. So here is another collection of snippets of wisdom for anyone setting out on that strange journey of self-flagellation that is a final edit…
Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings. ~
I’ve found the best way to revise your own work is to pretend that somebody else wrote it and then to rip the living shit out of it. ~
I edit my own stories to death. They eventually run and hide from me. ~
A good editor doesn’t rewrite words, she rewires synapses. ~
The first draft is black and white. Editing gives the story color. ~
Be a good editor. The Universe needs more good editors, God knows. ~
Only the blank page needs no editing. ~
If you don’t hate your darlings a little by the time they go to press, you haven’t edited them enough. ~
When reading I pretend I’m an editor, though when writing I realize I’m not. ~
Editing fiction is like using your fingers to untangle the hair of someone you love. ~
Writing without revising is the literary equivalent of waltzing gaily out of the house in your underwear. ~
When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split…. ~ Raymond Chandler
And finally, Because its a quote I am much fond of and occasionally in the midst of procrastination feel I should hang on the wall beside my desk…
You can always fix crap. You can’t fix a blank page. ~
