Saturday, May 28, 2016

We're still here! Just busy. And you know, considering how hard it is to break a bad habit, is it fair that it's so easy to break a good habit, like posting to a blog?

Anyway, came across this quote in an article by Jay Rosen, the journalism professor:

The writer and non-fiction master Gay Talese used to describe for anyone who asked how he would pin the typed pages of his articles to a wall, in order to step back and re-read the draft with binoculars. That’s right: binoculars! Why did he do this? Because it was the only way he could think of to examine his creation at the sentence level and as a completed whole: simultaneously. To perfect what he made, he needed distance from, and intimacy with. He felt he couldn’t sacrifice one for the other. If he planted a bomb on page 2, he wanted to see exactly how it went off on page 22, and assess whether that was the right story arc.

I think one of the most complicated tasks for writers is to find a way to actually read our own work-- not just edit it, or revise it, or write it, but READ it.
I don't know about binoculars though. :)
How is everyone?
I'd love to collect some sentences that need editing/revising. Donations? Post in comments a sentence you'd like to have me edit (or rather, use to spark some thought about sentences!). Can you identify what you think the problem might be, or alternatively, what you'd want to accomplish?
Thanks- it's always hard to generate examples!
Alicia

1 comment:

Liz Hulsizer said...

I laughed at the binocular approach since I HATE to read my work, which means I often don't read it. Yet, I know...I know I need to read it to see if it makes any sense at all.
Thanks,
Liz