Don't Point Your Fun At Me!

You don't need to be a good writer to have a good book.

Really, you don't.

I watched someone in our crit group anguish and panic over his first chapter. At every meeting he's brought in the same chapter, slightly reworked. He wants to be perfect. He wants that opening line to sear the soul with white hot fire. He wants the impossible.

It's a nice thought. A cute idea. And if I ever find the block-head who bragged about writing the perfect book in one draft I will take them out back and flog them with a wet noodle.

I know. I know. It's hard to understand. Back in school who didn't write a few papers in just a single draft? Wasn't that the entire point of essay questions in blue books? Didn't we all learn to cram months of research into a marathon writing session three hours before the final paper was due?

But stories are not the same beast. They're not even slightly related to essays. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true.

Fiction is something that must be written in layers. One draft for the bones, one draft for the muscles and skin, one draft for a brush off, and then the editing begins.

THERE ARE NO GOOD WRITERS, ONLY GOOD EDITORS.

Editing is what separates the best tale, the ones that sweep you of your feet and bring you to a magical new place, from the ones that rightfully deserved to be burned at the next solstice bonfire.

Editing is what keeps this from happening:

"Evan pointed his fun and Roger."

"Evan pointed his gun at Roger." Makes so much more sense! Do you know how long it took me to catch that typo? Four drafts, and five beta-readers. I read FUN as GUN dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

It took me another two drafts and two more beta-readers to catch a spot in the opening chapter where I had "stain" instead of "satin".

I'm not saying I'm perfect by a long shot. But do you really think anyone has a perfect draft on the first go? I don't. I have serious doubts about whether or not anyone can edit in isolation. I know some people claim they don't need help, but I've never seen proof they were right.

So don't despair when your draft isn't perfect. Don't stop writing to scrub that first line until it shines. Write the drafts. Flesh the story out. Edit as best you can. And then GET HELP. Find a beta-reader or two, hire an editor, join a writing group. Ask someone else to look over the work for you.

Writing is a creative force. Like a hurricane in blows the debris around and makes an unholy mess that will leave you in years. Editing is what turns the disaster into a masterpiece. Edit well.