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Craft of Writing

Jayda McTyson

Should You Go It Alone?

“At a glance…it is slightly text-bookish.”
“The fourth sentence is too convoluted.”
“It would lend more credence to the quote if it was accredited.”
“It doesn’t stir my blood…”

These are some of the comments I received after writing what I thought was a scintillating piece of work. At the time, I squirmed in discomfort, thinking about the rewrite that had to be done. At the same time, however, I was grateful that I decided to get those second opinions before I shot my ‘masterpiece’ off to an editor.

A long established writer may have little use for any kind of support system outside of his editor. However, a relatively new entrant to the writing arena will find that until his confidence is at a high level, he will need a second pair of eyes for several reasons.

Make Sure Your Ideas Make Sense To An ‘Average Joe’
Unless they cater to a specialized market, most publications are geared toward the average person. Anything that is directed at the ‘average Joe’ should be written in clear, concise form and the discussion should have a friendly tone.

In order to get your article just right, you may choose to consult with those closest to you, however, friends and family members tend not to make very good critics, sometimes hesitating to give their true opinion, for fear of hurting the writer’s feelings. To combat this hedging, it may be necessary to come up with a list of questions that stand the chance of eliciting some honest answers, such as: Did you understand the content of the article? Were the arguments convincing? Did you respect the viewpoint of the article, even if you didn’t agree?

If you are fortunate enough to have a reader who will give you some frank answers, this can be very helpful to the writing process.  Having the luxury of a second perspective makes it easier to see where you may be able to rewrite with the interest of the ordinary man in mind, as well as determine whether the material will prove interesting reading.

Double-Check For Typos
I’m sure it’s happened before that you’ve done some writing and read it for the umpteenth time, only to find after you’ve sent it off, that somehow you missed a typographical or grammatical error. ‘Yikes! How’d that happen?’ you ask yourself.

There are untold benefits to be had from pressing a respected friend or colleague into service for the purpose of editing your work. I particularly value the opinion of persons who have an excellent grasp of the English language and usually ask these individuals to edit my offerings.

This way, it is highly unlikely that any errors will slip through the cracks and will keep doors open that might otherwise remain closed. It isn’t a pleasant experience to have a foot in the proverbial door and have it slam shut through submitting a less than perfect manuscript. We never get a second chance to make a first impression. With a trusted ‘editor’, you will feel confident that you managed to catch every possible imperfection before you finally hit the send button in your email client.

Explore All The Angles
Have you ever thought that your story covered all the possible angles only to have a reader say, “Well, what about so-and-so?” You’ve probably thought, ‘Duh, why didn’t that occur to me?’

If your friendly editor is a quick study, there is always the benefit of covering several viewpoints, especially in the event that you’ve missed putting forward some interesting arguments. The old adage says two heads are better than one.

Not to say that you want to crowd your work with unnecessary details, but it is quite easy to miss adding in salient points when you view ideas from only your individual perspective.

Provide Needed Encouragement
Many of our successes come about because there are people in our lives who believe in us and so provide encouragement. Our families, for instance, have a vested interest in our success and can be counted on to provide support as and when it is needed.

It is when we think we can’t that we most need people to push us to do just that little bit extra to achieve our objectives, to do more than we thought we could possibly do.

I have gained confidence in what I am able to accomplish with words due to support shown by my spouse, friends and other writers. They sometimes see what I don’t and believe that I am capable of doing requested rewrites, no matter how difficult. It is that belief in our abilities by our cheerleading team that gives us the energy we need to go the extra mile and to produce excellent work.

It has been my experience that more seasoned writers do not necessarily want or need any kind of network of friends to edit their work. However, I have found that new writers learn and indeed thrive in a setting where they have other writers who are willing to play the role of critic.

Support may be provided informally by family and friends or more formally by writing groups or guilds. Writers seem to thrive in an environment where they exchange ideas. It is therefore important that writers, particularly new practitioners, find a way to garner feedback on their writing before submitting.

This can be done through friends, acquaintances and other writers. This contact ensures that the end product is easily understood, remains relatively error-free, ideas are thoroughly discussed and developed and there is support during those times when confidence might be at an ebb.

I have been fortunate in my writing life to have had several ways of proofing my work, which led to my being published just a few months after I decided I wanted to be a writer.


About the Author
Jayda McTyson writes both fiction and non-fiction and has special interest in the craft of writing, parenting and relationships. She lives in sunny Jamaica and is always on the lookout for the makings of her next story. Feel free to contact her at writesmith@fusemail.com.