Comments on: Poll Dancing #3

By: Sean Lindsay

Sean Lindsay — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:08:00 +0000

Heather, I’m just commenting so you don’t kill the thread.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:55:00 +0000

The endless “editing stage” is exactly what a write needs to convince them to stop. That inner editor gets to yapping, telling them how horrible their work is…it’s hard to keep writing when faced with such horror. I’d say that many writers are disillusioned until they can no longer function by the writing process.

And if, by some horrific coincidence, they complete a second draft, well, at least they’re doing better than Anne Rice and her refusal to let herself be edited.

By: Sean Lindsay

Sean Lindsay — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 13:17:00 +0000

Editing is a vastly more fruitful endeavour than writing. Making changes while copying results in something known as a “second draft”. I wish more writers were familiar with the concept.

By: M.O.

M.O. — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:52:00 +0000

I heartily advocate handwritten backups, as time spent copying is time not spent writing.

Hah-but!

Problem here: This process would inevitably lead to a process of secondguessing and dictionarypage flipping known to a select few as 'editing.' Now, I understand that this act prevents the penwielder from composing anything new,* but it does increase the writer's chances of publication (or so I've heard; I have yet to break out of "The Unfinished", but am a future member of "The Canon" frr-shrr!). Would the achievement of publication not then, Sir, encourage more 'Creative Expression?'

*Used in the Biblical "there's nothing New under the sun, but even if there were you wouldn't come up with it" sense.