Wednesday, February 2, 2011

What the? Wednesday ~ Duh to Me...

I've been knee-deep in edits and revisions as of late. Sometimes it seems like I can't get away from editing. I had one person say to me, well, if you wrote it right the first time, then you wouldn't have to edit.

Ah, to be young.

Trust me. I'd love to just write it correctly the first time and get it done with. I mean, we all want to have the right idea, right?

But then again, we'd all be perfect and that would be uncivilized...I mean, boring.

Which is what brings me to the "duh" moment. I was working with a CP who I swear has a LOT of patience with me and she kept saying all these fantastic craft terms. I mean writing craft. Like, "this is their 'dance' moment."

I'll be the first to admit, I write and go with my guts. Sure, I edit, but I've never sat down and taken a writing craft class. I wrote what seemed like countless lesson plans and more than too many research papers. I know the mechanics of writings. But let me tell you. Writing a romance novel or short story is NOTHING like writing a research paper. Think you know the mechanics? That's half the battle. Got a great idea? Fine, but if you don't have the tools to refine it, then you've got a rough, but cool idea.

Now, I'm not completely foolish, but when she mentioned what I relayed above, I was dumbstruck. I mean, sheesh. I thought I knew this stuff. I had no idea.

Duh, to me.

I'm still learning. Trust me. I'm not the most learned author and I'm willing to sponge whatever info I can to make my work better.

See? We're all not perfect and that's fine as long as we're willing to grow and learn. I am.

8 comments:

Kaye Manro said...

I do know exactly what you mean! I don't think we ever stop learning. I do know this-- when I'm working on a story idea, I tend to ponder, research, write and rewrite. I read in the genre relentlessly until I think I may have it right. But still there is so much work to do to write the thing! It's called revision and rewriting.

Good post, Wendi!

Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer said...

Thanks Kaye. You're so right as well. Immersion in the genre is a great way to learn it and yet, sometimes it doesn't seem enough. Thanks for stopping by!

Fiona McGier said...

I write it all down first. Then I do research I think I might need. Luckily I have been assigned to an editor who does some research and calls me on it when I don't! Color me embarrassed, but grateful for his help!

Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer said...

Hi Fiona! That's very cool the editor will help you. At least you know if you really miss something, you have someone to make sure it's right. Thanks for stopping by!

She said...

Doesn't matter how much we know about a subject, we all have learnng moments. They don't have to big moments. It is often in the smallest, simplest moment we are able and willing to learn. It's like a new world is opened to us. I've been at my job for over 35 years and I learn something new every day.

Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer said...

You're absolutely right, She. We should all stop, smell the roses and learn from them. Glad you stopped by.

Lisabet Sarai said...

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I have a CP who's always telling me, "You're too nice to your characters. They're not tortured enough." And he's right. My work would be much more intense if I had more darkness and conflict.

Meanwhile, I tell him, "You only need one of these three adjectives here." And "this is a great section, but it doesn't add to the story."

If we weren't learning all the time, it would be boring, right?

Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer said...

Lisabet, I am completely in agreement. I have a Cp who always tells me to throw rocks at my characters. There's always going to be a learning curve and it's up to us to keep sponging it up.