On Wednesday, I posted a list of things some editors wish writers knew about editors. Today, I’m posting a list of things for writers to keep in mind while they’re writing. Yes, these came from an editor–but they’re meant to be a friendly reminder. After all, we can become too attached to our words, which sometimes leads us to feel hurt when our passages are mercilessly deleted.
Again, I had help with this list from Kat Code, my editor at Cloverleaf Country Magazine. She is a fantastic, talented, wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, kind editor (who would cut out all of those adjectives in a heartbeat–see rule 2 below).
1. You may be a fantastic writer, but not everything you write is gold (this doesn’t count for me).
Sometimes, what we write requires polishing to make it shine. That’s the editor’s job. That doesn’t mean what you’ve written isn’t good; just that it could be even better. A few words cut here, a bit more clarity there and the article becomes brilliant. The thing is, as writers we’re often too close to the work to see where those tiny but all important adjustments should be made.
2. Watch out for adjectives (unless you’re sucking up to your editor in a blog post–see above).
Although adjectives have their place, too many can make a sentence unnecessarily long and complicated. They can obscure the meaning of a sentence and are often redundant. (“Brutally murdered,” for example, is redundant. Are you listening news writers and broadcasters?)
3. Kill (or brutally murder) your darlings.
Some of the brilliant paragraphs that you’ve laboured over don’t translate to the audience. To you, they are as vital to your article as oxygen is to life. But to your audience, they may be unnecessary, unclear or boring. Read each paragraph and ask yourself if it is truly necessary to the audience’s understanding of your article. If the paragraph doesn’t enhance understanding or move the story forward–or if it’s just there to demonstrate how intelligent or witty you are–it should probably be cut.
4. Style guides exist for a reason.
If a magazine, website or client has a style guide, follow it. If anything is unclear or conflicts with what you’re writing, you can probably ask the editor about it. But, if the style guide says to use a specific font, then do it. If the style guide says to use a serial comma, do it. If the style guide says to use Canadian spellings or follow the Canadian Press stylebook , then learn to embrace the “u” and the “re.”
5. Follow natural breathing rhythms when writing sentences.
People’s breathing matches the rhythm of the text they’re reading. “Be kind to your audience by not writing on endlessly just for the sake of producing the longest sentence imaginable and remember that you will sometimes need to reread what you’ve just written so you can look for places where long sentences can be broken up into smaller ones so that your audience doesn’t pass out from lack of breath.” (Thanks, Kat. I couldn’t have put it better.) You might want to brutally murder your darlings, but you don’t want your audience to pass out from lack of oxygen.
6. It’s all about the audience.
You’re not writing an article for yourself (except in the sense that you get paid for it, so it benefits you in that way). You’re writing an article for your readers. Keep your readers in mind when you write. Use words and phrases they use. Give explanations for things they won’t understand. Don’t assume they have the same knowledge as you. Be kind to your readers. Make your article entertaining and informative (as necessary, depending on the type of article).
Writers and editors need each other. Without editors, published work would be of a lesser quality. Without writers there would be no need for editors. If you keep in mind that most editors (not all, but most) just want your work to shine so the audience enjoys it, you might be a happy freelancer.
