| Writing Tips (continued) | | Date Created: Jan 29, 2006, 08:57 PM |
|
2b. Work at seeing rewriting as an opportunity rather than a chore. It is.
Someone once told me (I can't possibly have made this up myself) that just as most good thoughts are afterthoughts, most good writing is rewriting. Elmore Leonard, one of my favourite writers, was once asked to give advice to would-be writers (most of it is specific to fiction). Here's the best bit: "If it sounds like writing, I re-write it."
Trust me, when you feel like the author is talking to you, nine times out of nine-and-a-half, it's because the author or author plus editor have laboured over that passage, rewriting until it sounds effortless.
Tomorrow: roller-coasters. In slow motion. |
|
|
|
