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EVERY
writer needs an editor.
Some columnists reportedly insist that their copy not be
touched but run as is. They’re courting disaster; so do
publishers who allow such conceit. Writers aren’t gods
incapable of error. Forgetting official ranks or exact
dates, misspelling words or slipping in grammar—it
happens to the best of them. The editor is there to spot
and correct the mistakes.
Every
good writer owes it to a good editor. Read book
acknowledgements. Authors credit their editors not only
for refining their copy but also guiding the research,
headlining the chapters, picking the cover design and
typography, at times even managing their personal
finances. The only thing a columnist must disallow an
editor is tamper with his opinion.
They
wrote, too.
I will forever be grateful to the editors who molded my
early writings: Melinda Quintos de Jesus, Johnny
Gatbonton, Yen Makabenta (yes, the billiards champ) and
the late Teddy Berbano and Bernie de Leon. My gratitude,
too, to other editors who handled and continue to guard
my pieces. All obsessive-compulsive, they fit to a T
Arthur Plotnik’s basic condition for editors in
Elements of Editing, a sequel of sorts to Strunk and
White’s Elements of Style (two booklets every writer
must have).
Plotnik
required editors to be O-C in hunting for errors to
correct. Good editors challenge every name and date,
every word, phrase, sentence and punctuation, to make
sure they’re right and presented right. They fall in
love with others’ copies and treasure these as their
own, straining to perfect authors’ works, yet never
sharing the byline.
Self-editing.
Melinda, Johnny, Yen, Teddy and Bernie are (were) also
superb writers. They know the labor the writer puts in,
so they take very good care of the copy to edit. Masters
of their craft, they know exactly when to transpose,
delete or rewrite.
Thus,
all writers must be editors—of themselves. The writer
cannot rely on the editor to improve his work. Before
the piece reaches the editor, he must have rewritten and
reedited it. The best writers have imbibed the
discipline of self-editing. Hemingway took 25 rewrites
to come up with a satisfactory lead because “the first
draft of anything is shit.” Capote said of his craft: “I
believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.”
Shorten,
simplify. Imagine you’re a chef.
Your recipe for a good article should include plenty of
shortening. Here I go KISS-ing again. But I can’t
emphasize it enough: Keep It Short and Simple. Pare down
words and sentences. After writing your piece, check
every word if it’s essential. If there’s a shorter one
for it, change it. Use verbs in lieu of adverbs, and
less adjectives. If a thought is vague, rewrite it.
Go
straight to the point.
Readers have no time or patience for beaters around the
bush, William Zinsser advises (On Writing Well). Be like
the embezzled banker who wanted to get the facts across
fast. Asked by the detective to describe his missing
cashier, he blurted, “Five feet-five inches tall and
six-hundred-thousand pesos short.”
Short
talk.
Be brief in speeches, as well. Speeches are meant to be
heard, not read. All the more you have to keep your
language plain and easily understood. Write for the ear,
not the eye.
In
How to Write and Give a Speech, Joan Detz devotes a
chapter on simplifying. Says she: “Remember, your
audience will have only one shot to get your message.
They can’t go back and reread a section that’s fuzzy, as
they can with a book or a newspaper article. Get rid of
any fuzzy parts before you give the speech.“
Sleep on
it.
Detz further advises to never be content with the first
draft: “After you’ve written it, read it aloud. Let some
time elapse between your rewrites. Let the whole thing
sit overnight or a couple of nights, if possible. Then
go at it with a red pen. Cut ruthlessly. Choose the
right word. Simplify your phrases. Sharpen your
sentences.”
Why,
even Saint Paul preached: “Except ye utter by the tongue
words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what
is spoken? For if not, ye shall speak into the empty
air.”
Computer
editing.
Microsoft Word software contains editing aids. Pull down
“Tools” and you’ll find useful features: Spelling,
Grammar, Thesaurus, Hyphenation, Dictionary, Language.
There’s also Word Count, AutoSummarize, AutoCorrect;
then, Track Changes, Merge Documents, Flag for Follow
Up. It takes less than an hour to study the features.
Writing
is just as easy.
Screenwriter Gene Fowler said, “All you do is sit
staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of
blood form on your forehead.” |
