Just Write

Editing is writing, too.

Editing is writing, too.

Do you resist editing your writing?

Does the idea of polishing your writing make you feel uncomfortable?

I hear ya!

Do you resist sharing your writing with others?

Does putting your writing “out there” feel like you’re sending your precious child into the (cold, cruel) world?

Yep, I hear that, too.

I used to be very nervous about showing my writing to others. And I still am a bit nervous sometimes.

But then I joined writing groups here and there and I began to share my writing.

When my writing was published — it happened sort of by accident — I didn’t seek to be published. A friend encouraged me (thank you, Pat Tyler) and . . . now I’ve been published in 6 anthologies. And I have to tell ya . . . it’s fun.

Here are my thoughts about the writing process of going from the creativity of a new idea to editing to final product.

When you first write something. . . it can be creative and fun.  Then, when the possibility of publishing comes up. . . that precious, personal writing becomes . . . A Product.

And that can be a difficult shift to make.  But, here’s the thing. . . editing and polishing your writing for publishing can be fun.  Although it’s challenging to select the exact right word or phrase choice, when you have success, it’s a fabulous Eureka moment! It can be fun to shape the writing so others can understand what you are trying to say.

Finally, it can be rewarding to share your writing and receive positive feedback that helps strengthen your writing.

Editing is like pruning a fruit tree or a rose bush.  Make a few snips (changes), step back, take a look . . . make a few more changes until the shape gets better and better, and more pleasing. Until, finally, you like the final product and you’re ready to send your precious writing into the world.

Give it a twirl . . . post your writing here, on The Write Spot Blog, and see what happens. I predict good things for you.

Thank you, Kelly and all my friends, for the inspiration for this post.

Just Write!

Rose by JeffPhoto by Jeff Cullen

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8 comments

  1. Ke11y

    So here I am, a life made more special by your encouraging voice heard in it. I enjoy you, my friend, and your artistic nature, and if anything I write at all, encourages you to shine, the way I shine when reading your words, then the world is, at the very least, a perfect peach.

    1. mcullen Post author

      Grateful for you, Kelly, and your gorgeous writing.

      Thankful for peach juice, dribbling down my chin!

  2. heartmom

    I’ve always started from the opposite end …. editing was the easiest part; coming up with the personal first draft was the difficult task for me. I struggled with the creative process and was stymied with that “first step”. That is why I love “Jumpstart” so much – I am learning to relax, let go, and just let the ideas flow.

    1. mcullen Post author

      And now, Heartmom . . . your “first steps” are an amazing dance!

  3. Ke11y

    Relax, let go, and let the ideas flow… were any words more musical, more inspirational…

    I relaxed, I let go, and I let these words flow:

    Happiness, I heard someone say, lies in clear ideas of what you want, and what you can achieve? That’s one interesting point of view. It doesn’t work for me, probably because I learned that, if one person wakes up to brilliant sunshine, someone else has woken up to fog. So nothing in life is ever wholly harmonious. That’s why I think about ‘love’ and choose only to be confused by it.

    The first man whoever loved surely had the thing made out of marble, tough, but prone to cracks. Being in love is something people have done for thousands of years, with varying degrees of success. It is a beautiful thing, I’d never think of it any other way.

    However, I think that falling ‘in love’ is a precarious business. It’s kind of like being in prison, except you hope and pray there’s no way out! It only ceases to be beautiful if one or the other decides to chip away at what makes it so beautiful in the first place.

    Love can, and must be a brilliant thing, otherwise it would have been given up a very long time ago. It can also be a barbaric and destructive, and the surest way for one person to completely lose their own identity.

    Love, in the end, is work. It is respect. When in love, one needs to relax, let go, and let those three words flow.

    Thank you, Heartmom, for your beautiful prompt this early morn’.

    Thank you, Heartmom.

  4. heartmom

    Nail on the head ( again, Kelly) … I can’t think of a better way to define love … love gives us the ability to exhale, close our eyes, and for that one moment in time and space, just BE. I think that Marlene has provided us with such a place – at Jumpstart, and here in “Cyberspace” – not the “romantical” love that young swains spew in starry-eyed songs, but the kind of love that offers acceptance, respect, and room to wiggle inside your own soul until you find a comfortable place to land and dream and create…. so thank you Kelly, and thank you Marlene.

  5. Kathy Myers

    Words of wisdom, Marlene my mentor. One of your well placed comments in jumpstart, put me on the path to write my first novel. (Had I not been on jury duty all summer, it would be finished!) But revisiting and editing my first nineteen chapters on my lunch breaks, has helped me coalesce my thinking on a satisfying conclusion. I don’t yet know what it will feel like to hand off my precious darling to an editor, or pitch it to an agent. I imagine it’s like taking your first child to kindergarten; with reluctant tears, and hopeful intentions.
    I once heard it said that to ease the anxiety of public speaking you should imagine the audience naked. Maybe that works with editors, agents and publishers. Writing a romance novel gives me a leg up (pun intended ) in that regard.

    1. mcullen Post author

      Oh,Kathy. Thanks for the chuckle! I sure have missed you and I am thrilled to hear you are writing and editing as much as you can.

      And yes, I hope you do get to experience those emotions of handing over your precious darling. Wait! Scratch that. . . I know you will get to experience that . . . with your determination and perseverance .. . it will happen!

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