Writing Advice from an Editor to an Intern

By Kate Phillips

          I didn’t set out to become an editor. I wanted to be a successful writer working from home. I became both after years of writing then taking a writing class where I met the woman who just bought one of the magazines I now write for and edit.

I started out as an unpaid intern for the magazines. I wrote articles as well as learned about copyediting (turning press releases and items sent in by the public about meetings and events into style copy for the magazine issue), layouts (placing headlines, bylines, copy, ads, pull quotes, photos, and captions on each page), proofreading (using the correct proofreaders’ marks), and all the little things to check in an effort to publish an almost perfect issue (something always goes wrong).

A few years later, I became the editor of one then two magazines—a job I love.

Now I’m working with an intern who wants to be a writer and an editor. I’m happy to share my knowledge and experience with her; however, writing skills are more straightforward to teach than editing skills. My writing advice is posted now. My advice for editing will be posted on October 17, 2016.

Here is my writing advice:                                                                        

                             

To be a better writer, write. It’s just that simple. There is never enough time to write. You must make the time to write. Get up early. Stay up late. Write anytime you are waiting for someone or something. Writers write! Jot down thoughts and sentence fragments, plots, and ideas in a notebook or record on phone. 

If you want to be a professional writer, learn to write on demand, not wait for inspiration, by writing to deadlines. Filling a notebook a month as recommended by Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones is a great way to start. Write a concise weekly blog—300-500 words—without fail. Write three pages every morning as recommended by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. If really short on time, write Six-Word Memoirs®. (See books by the same title or visit Smith Magazine online.)

Take writing classes or join a writing group. Deadlines and feedback are essential.

“It is easy to lose sight of the fact that writers do not write to impart knowledge to others, rather, they write to inform themselves.”   –Judith Guest

Choose a magazine you enjoy reading. Write an article following its style (topic, word count, tone, etc.). Write about what you love. Learn from the best as you can interview experts or participants in whatever topics interest you. Write your first drafts without thought to the word count. Then rewrite your articles repeatedly. Final articles should be your best work including all the points you wanted to make as well as meeting the word counts. Submit articles for publication.

“Don't market yourself. Editors and readers don't know what they want until they see it. Scratch what itches. Write what you need to write, feed the hunger for meaning in your life.”     –Donald M. Murray

Write with abandon then rewrite by writing concisely.

“Nothing you write, if you hope to be any good, will ever come out as you first hope.”   –William Hellman

For reference: on average, I spend 35-40% of my time writing and 60-65% rewriting pieces for publication. I rewrite my articles five, six, ten times until I’m satisfied it’s the best I can do. Read pieces aloud to catch mistakes.

“Writing is really rewriting—making the story better, clearer, truer.” –Robert Lipsyte

“Look for verbs of muscle, adjectives of exactitude.”  --Mary Oliver in Blue Pastures on page 89.

Meet all deadlines, no matter what, as professional writers and editors won’t work for long if they don’t.

Also, read everything. A better reader is a better writer.

Read writing books. I have recommended many on this blog (see partial list at end of this post), especially The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

All knowledge makes you a better writer (and editor). I read all genres as good writers make any genre or topic interesting. I also read books about philosophy, science, space, and art as well as classic novels and bestsellers.

“You learn to write by reading and writing, writing and reading. As a craft, it's acquired through the apprentice system, but you choose your own teachers. Sometimes they're alive, sometimes they're dead.”  –Margaret Atwood

Read often and widely including poetry to get a feel for words, language, flow, and rhythm.

Poetry is essential. Ray Bradbury makes this recommendation to writers on page 36 of Zen in the Art of Writing:

Read poetry every day of your life…it flexes muscles you don’t use often enough…it expands the senses and keeps them in prime condition.

Reading expands your vocabulary, too. Look up every word new-to-you for future reference. Write these words and definitions in your notebooks so you remember them.

Make sure the words you use (or edit) mean what you think they mean otherwise you look foolish. Once in print, it is out there forever so take the time to refer to a dictionary, RefDesk.com, or the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. Use correct punctuation and grammar, too.  

For writers (and editors), words are our medium. Spend as much time as possible reading and writing.

“…writing is finally sitting alone in a room and wrenching it out of yourself, and nobody can teach you that.”       –Jon Winokur

Writing Book Recommendations: 

(I have reviewed most of these books on this blog. Dates of posts are in parentheses.)

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield  (8/30/12)

Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield  (9/9/13)

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg  (5/6/13; 1/12/14)

The Right to Write and The Writer’s Life by Julia Cameron  (5/6/13; 1/12/14)

Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald  (6/26/16)

The Golden Rule by Brian McDonald  (7/25/16)

The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase by Mark Forsyth  (2/23/15)

The Writer’s Home Companion edited by Joan Bolker, Ed. D.  (12/3/12)

Blue Pastures by Mary Oliver  (3/21/16; 4/4/16)

Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury  (3/9/15)

For Writer’s Only by Sophy Burnham  (12/17/12)

The Writing Life by Ellen Gilchrist  (7/21/14)

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild (1/28/13)    

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes  (1/11/16)

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers by Lawrence Block (will be reviewed)

The Book on Writing by Paula LaRocque (will be reviewed)

The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop by Stephen Koch  (8/5/13)

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (5/6/13)

A Writer’s Paris: A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul by Eric Maisel  (5/25/15)

Fiction Writing Master Class by William Cane (9/7/15)

The Soul of Creative Writing by Richard Goodman 10/19/15)

Backpack Literature by XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia (4^th post each month, September 2016-April 2017)

On Writing by Stephen King—needs no review

Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion by William Kenower  (8/8/16)

The Writing Trade by John Jerome (1/14/13)

Poetry:

Mary Oliver  (4/28/14) I read all her books.

Billy Collins  (4/22/13) I read all his books.

Anthologies & classic poetry

Knowledge:

A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman. (5/27/13) I recommend all of her books.

At Home by Bill Bryson. I read all his books.  (12/24/12; 1/26/15)

Books by Joseph Campbell & The Art of Reflection: A Joseph Campbell Companion by Diane K. Osbon

Memoirs:

Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir by Beth Kephart  (8/26/13)

Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell  (9/29/14)

On Conan Doyle by Michael Dirda  (11/23/15)

Six-Word Memoirs edited by Larry Smith  (9/10/12)

Essays:

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (11/26/12)

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (5/26/14) Title of an essay, not subject of book.

High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver (7/22/13)

A Cup of Comfort for Writers edited by Colleen Sell  (5/11/15)

Screenplays:

Screenplay by Robin Russin and William Missouri Downs  (8/10/15)

On Story: Screenwriters and Their Craft edited by Barbara Morgan and Maya Perez  (6/6/16)

Reference:

Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus (6/9/14)

The Synonym Finder by J I Rodale  (6/9/14)

Grammar and punctuation books

Online:   

Are You There Blog? It’s Me Writer by Kristen Lamb, award-winning blog warriorwriters.wordpress.com.

Steven Pressfield, blog Writing Wednesdays at www.stevenpressfield.com.

Backpack Literature by XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia Chapters 1-3

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

          In continuation of the post of September 5th, I’ve completed the first three chapters of the textbook Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing 4^th edition by XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. It’s as informative and engaging as the authors promised.

          Even if you don’t want to complete the writing exercises, I highly recommend reading the text filled with pieces by Somerset Maugham, Aesop, Bidpai, Chuang Tzu, John Updike, William Faulkner, Edgar Allan Poe, Jamaica Kincaid, Virginia Woolf, Katherine Anne Porter, Katherine Mansfield, Alice Walker, and Raymond Carver. (At the end of each writer’s piece there is a list of questions. Answering them will make you both a better writer and a better reader.) Then read the Writing Effectively points, Checklist, and Terms for Review at the end of each chapter—that’s an education in itself.

          The Writing Effectively section lists items to consider for each chapter’s topic. The Checklist is a series of questions to ensure you aren’t leaving anything important out of your work. The Terms of Review are concisely defined.  

          In the future, if I need more information or inspiration about plots, points of view, or characters (the topics of the first three chapters) I’ll pick this book up first for clarification.

          Then there are the Writing Assignments and the More Topics for Writing sections at the end of each chapter. You can choose to complete any or all of them, whatever you feel you need to improve your writing. I read them all, considered my answers, but only had time to write one piece for each chapter.

          My completed writing assignments:

I wrote down the answers to most of the questions after each piece in all three chapters because they forced me to pay attention. This attention to detail is important in every piece of writing whether you are the reader or the writer—and an active reader makes for a better writer.

          For Chapter One, rather than analyzing another writer’s plot, I worked on writing my own fable.

          For Chapter Two, I wrote a different point of view piece. I chose to write from Homer Barron’s point of view in “My Affair with Miss Emily.” No specifics to avoid spoilers.

          For Chapter Three, I wrote a short essay on what motivates the narrator to overcome his antipathy to the blind man in “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver. This was my favorite of the short stories which surprised me as I had strong negative feelings about one character. No more specifics to avoid spoilers.

          I made the right choice to audit this class. The chapter lessons are clear, comprehensive, and well illuminated by the various writers. The questions and assignments are thoughtful and creative. Also, the Writing Effectively points, Checklist, and Terms for Review at the end of each chapter are worth the price of this textbook.

          I’m looking forward to completing chapters 4-7 which I’ll discuss in my post on October 24^th.

Ten Poems to...series by Roger Housden

By Kate Phillips    

          Poetry is something most people identify with school—bad flashbacks of memorizing poems or analyzing them to death.

          I’ve since realized poetry enriches my writing and my life. I’m in awe of the poet’s genius.

I think all writers would benefit from reading poems.             

          Poets are a cut above as most writers could write fiction, nonfiction, short stories, essays, articles, etc. Poetry, not so much.

          Poets use few words on a short canvas. They write concisely and precisely conveying what we cannot find the words to say.

          “…great poetry reaches down into the depths of our humanity and captures the very essence of our experience. Then delivers it up in exactly the right words. This is why we shudder with recognition when we hear the right poem at the right time.” Introduction to ten poems to say goodbye by Roger Housden, page 13.

          This is the last book in his poetry series that includes ten poems to change your life; ten poems to open your heart; ten poems to set you free; and ten poems to last a lifetime. If you want to read poetry but don’t know where to start, this series is a good one to begin with.

          Housden chooses each poem reproduced in his books. After the poems are his essays sharing what the poems mean to him and to humanity.

          In response to Mary Oliver’s poem “Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches?” on pp. 61-64 of ten poems to set you free, Housden wrote on page 65: “Mary Oliver’s body of work is a pure litany of rapture, a song of ecstatic praise in honor of the physical world.” (As she is one of my favorite poets, I completely agree.)

After reading “Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota” by James Wright, Housden noted on page 79 of ten poems to last a lifetime “…That shocks me awake to a greater aliveness still, awake to a sensation, below words, of the complexity, the beauty, the tensions, that make up my life.”

I had never read Naomi Shihab Nye before, but I love her poem “The Art of Disappearing” on pp. 91-92 of ten poems to last a lifetime. She reminds readers why to decline invitations from people you barely know, lost touch with or don’t care for—time-wasters all.

On pp 35-36 of ten poems to say goodbye, “How It Will Happen, When” by Dorianne Laux is about the death of her husband. Through little details, she shares her grief and the passing of time.

Housden shares, “…Only one of my close friends has died, and no one I have ever lived with. Perhaps it is because I am a stranger to the grief in this poem that it felt like an initiation of sorts when I first read it, a baptism into a dimension of being human that I never knew. A poem can do this for us.”

Yes, it can.

What Do Artists Do All Day? Katie Paterson is Creating The Future Library

By Kate Phillips

          Recently, artist Katie Paterson was highlighted on the BBC America show What Do Artists Do All Day? She was working on a sculpture created from wood from 10,000 trees—every species in the world including the oldest tree (over 4,000 years old) and the tallest tree in England. The samples are all polished rectangles of various sizes. In the art piece, the wood “grows” from ground level to a canopy high above so people will be able to walk into the sculpture like walking into a forest.

          While this was an interesting project, Paterson explained she had another wood project she was working on called The Future Library. To complete this project, she has planted a forest outside of Oslo. In 100 years, these trees are to be felled, pulped, and made into paper for books.

          In the meantime, 100 authors are being chosen now, one each year, to write books that will be printed on this paper. The first author is Margaret Atwood. The second is David Mitchell. Their books are only to be read as part of this project.

          Will paper books still be prevalent in 100 years? Will people know how to pulp wood and make paper then? I guess instructions will be included with the 100 manuscripts just in case. It’s difficult to believe that things we take for granted today may be faint memories a century from now.

          Of course, this happens all the time. I just read an earlier book (1989) written by a current author. In it, a woman couldn’t call for help from her bedroom because a receiver was off the hook in her kitchen. This was a minor shock to me as cell phones have made this problem inconsequential. How much more of our everyday lives will be inconsequential 100 years from now?

          I keep considering that someday our culture will be considered primitive. How is this possible with computers, tablets, wi-fi, etc.? We’ve sent a Rover to Mars! Except 100 years ago imagine how modern people felt with indoor plumbing, electricity, and now ordinary household appliances.

As a writer, I’m interested mostly in the authors writing books that won’t be read for up to 100 years. They are writing through time. Knowing the audience will have different sensibilities, will that change their work? Or will they just stay true to themselves and write it as just their next book to give the future audience a feel for life as it is now?

          A book takes a lot of time and effort to finish. Imagine, after all that work, getting no appreciation or feedback from your audience. Of course, if the project is completed as planned, the authors will have whole new audiences.

          I hope Katie Paterson’s Future Library is a success. I’d like to think book readers continue on long after most everything else is obsolete.

UPDATE: Reported on BBC the next day: Sony’s new digital books bringing characters to life by swiping the illustrations from the page on to any table top where they danced around were highlighted at a Tech Expo in Germany. It’s getting harder to believe books on paper will be available 10 years from now let alone 100.

Backpack Literature by XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia

By Kate Phillips

          It’s September so I’ve decided to go back to school—well “audit” a writing class using the textbook Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing 4^th edition by XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. I’m going back to Beginner’s Mind to remember things I’ve forgotten and learn things I never knew.

In the preface, authors Kennedy and Gioia believe:

“…that textbooks should not only be informative and accurate but also lively, accessible, and engaging…read with enjoyment and which will inspire [students] to take their own writing more seriously…” (page xxx)

          I wish I had taken a class like this in college!

          In this textbook, there are short stories, poetry, and plays by many well-known writers including John Updike, Amy Tan, Tim O’Brien, Kate Chopin, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, Anna Deavere Smith, and August Wilson along with some classic writers like William Faulkner, Emily Dickinson, and Shakespeare. After reading these pieces, there are questions then writing assignments. This will sharpen my critical thinking and writing skills as well as introduce me to some writers new to me.

          After the questions at the end of each chapter, there is a Writing Effectively section about the chapter’s topic like plot or point of view followed by a Checklist for your writing and then a Writing Assignment as well as More Topics For Writing. I will complete or just review items as I wish since I’m auditing this class.

          If you are a beginning writer or you need assignments and deadlines to get you writing or you just want to hone your skills, this textbook in the 4^th, 5^th, or any edition may work for you.

I’ll let you know how it’s working for me. There are 30 chapters. My plan is to complete a chapter a week. I’ll post an update of the course the fourth week of every month until completion, September through April. Then I will write a summary in May.

I love to read. I love to learn. I love to write. I think I’m going to love this “lively, accessible, and engaging” textbook.

Professionally, I publish on average three book reviews, seven essays, and four articles a month while also working on writing projects. I edit two monthly magazines as well as work as a freelance editor. I’m adding this textbook project to my writing schedule because I believe it will be fun and educational while improving my writing across the board. Writers write! Deadlines rule!

Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life Edited by Barnaby Conrad and Monte Schulz

By Kate Phillips

          I read highly recommended novels for my post this week, but two failed to keep my attention and the third was good, but not great so I searched my bookshelves and decided Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life was a better choice.

Before you dismiss this as a joke, 32 authors/writers including Ray Bradbury, Sue Grafton, Elizabeth George, A. Scott Berg, and Elmore Leonard penned essays on The Writers’ Life based on their favorite comic strips of Snoopy sitting in front of his Olivetti typewriter on top of his doghouse which illustrate this tribute to writing.

In the Foreword, author Monte Schulz writes about his beloved father, Charles, their relationship as well as how important literature was in their lives.

“When I was young, my father gave me some of his favorite adventure books to read, like Driscoll’s Book of Pirates and Red Rackham’s Treasure. He wanted me to become as entranced by the storyteller’s art as he was…He own reading was astoundingly eclectic. He loved poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction…” (page 3)

“Once I’d reached the age where literary art is appreciated as much as bravado storytelling, my father began recommending literary books for me to read. Years later he told me that one of his fondest wishes had been that one day I’d grow into an appreciation of literature so that he and I could share and discuss the same books, some he would find to read, some I’d share with him. And finally we did…” (page 4)

“…Without a doubt, my father used Snoopy the author to express his own love and frustration with the creative process, to illuminate the writer’s life by poking fun at the often incomprehensible divide between author and publisher while showing the amazing resilience of the everyday writer struggling for acceptance and acknowledgment…” (page 11)

          In his Introduction, Barnaby Conrad gives readers a glimpse into Charles Schulz’s writing life describing his working day, writing space, and some of his habits that he caught while interviewing him for The New York Times Magazine. Schulz shared his views on writing, art, music, and genius as well.

In the 32 essays by other authors/writers, they offer advice, reflections, and warnings that are enlightening. Not every essay appealed to me, one even offended me, but here are a few quotes I loved:

“My biggest piece of advice is don’t use desperately boring description to elaborate on something technical or dole out heavy explanation...The reader will ignore it and be bored. Describe it in dialogue. The vision in the in the mind of the reader flies so much faster, and the reader actually understands and enjoys hearing what the characters say about it.

                                    --Clive Cussler (page 36)

“The rules for writing a best-seller are simple:

·        Take an idea you really, really like.

·        Develop it until it is brilliant.

·        Rewrite it for a year or two, until every word shines.

Then bite your nails, hold your breath, and pray like mad.

                                   --Sidney Sheldon (page 40)

“The joy about writing is that as long as you write from your heart, a thousand English degrees cannot compete with that. And remember, an editor can always correct your spelling and fix your grammar, but only you can tell your story.”

                                   --Fannie Flagg (page 69)

“To me, writing a book is a two-part process. The first part, and probably the toughest, is starting a book…

The second part, which I’ve always considered much easier, is completing the book. It’s much longer than starting, but also considerably easier—because now, momentum is on my side.”

                                   --Jay Conrad Levinson (page 112)

“I always tell my writing students to become completely aware of their bodies as they write. I tell them that their minds will lie to them all the time, but their guts will never lie to them. You know when you are afraid, don’t you? You feel it; you don’t think it. You know when you are excited, too…you have to learn to apply that gut reaction to your writing…”

                                   --Elizabeth George (page 123)

I wish I could reprint Elizabeth George’s entire essay as she gave great advice, but you will have to discover it for yourself. She ends with:

“I think the writing life is the best there is. It’s also the most challenging. It’s filled with a heck of a lot of difficult moments, but overcoming them is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.” (page 124)

          I have to agree.

         

         

Write Within Yourself: An Author's Companion by William Kenower

By Kate Phillips

          When I started out to become a writer, I didn’t know any writers except the ones I read and loved. I didn’t know how to write an article or a book or what comprised a workday. I only knew I wanted to write, too.

          Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg gave me an on ramp into the writing life. As I have mentioned previously, it was a great help to start a writing career.

Since then, I’ve become a professional writer. I know and edit many writers, but the writing process is different for each one of us. Because I write alone, I'm always looking for writing companions.

I’ve found a few books like: For Writers Only: Inspiring thoughts on the exquisite pain and heady joy of the writing life from its great practitioners by Sophy Burnham; The Writer’s Home Companion by Joan Bolker, Ed.D.; Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury; The War of Art: Break Through Your Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield; The Writing Life by Ellen Gilchrist; Blue Pastures by Mary Oliver; The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron; Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott; and Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. As for blogs, I recommend Writing Wednesdays by Steven Pressfield and Kristin Lamb’s award-winning blog.

While browsing for something to read recently, I came across Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion by William Kenower. In his 80 concise essays about writing, Kenower shares some life stories, beliefs, insights, advice, topics to consider, successes, failures as well as quotes from other writers.

On pages 12 & 13:

Every day when writers sit down to write, they must ask themselves this question of, “What do I most want to say?” over and over again…

…What do I most want?

Life, and well-being, is really as simple as that…that question remains the most courageous , the most meaningful, and also the most frightening  question you will ever answer…as a writer, if you answer authentically you may see a combination of words on the page that you have never read before, which is both exhilarating and frightening…

On page 97:

Through writing you can learn the endlessly practical discipline of trust. You learn to trust because you are forever the judge and jury of all decisions in your life, and writing draws this fact into stark relief. You must trust yourself finally, or nothing will ever get written.

          On page 149:

…I only got to discover that I love to write once. And yet writing, like some marriages, can be a constant discovery. As with writing, love is not some destination but a portal, a window through which to see life as I intend to lead it.

          On page 159:

So do not think about writing beautifully, think only about writing clearly and about what you care the most. Let the words take the shape of whatever your clarity demands, and then let it go. If you manage to say precisely what you mean, you will have provided another person the opportunity to share in what you love, and there is little in the world more beautiful than that.

         

          Like the other companion books I listed, Write Within Yourself sits on a shelf near my writing desk. I write alone, but I have a support system.