One Way to Rescue Lost Writing
Today I’m sharing a post I read that helps you to rescue a piece of writing that seems lost. You’ve surely heard the saying “all writing is rewriting”. I’m not sure if that’s really true, but rewriting certainly takes up far more of my time than writing.
Rewriting usually takes up far more time than I’d like. Even when I plan and outline once I get into drafting the piece often just takes a life of its own. Before I know it I’ve got two or three times as many words as I need, and not always the right ones for the purpose I planned.
That’s why I’m always on the look out for techniques or tools to help make rewriting and editing an easier job. The post How to Rescue a Piece When You Write a Frankenstein recently posted on Write To Done is exactly the kind of help I can use. It starts with some reassuring words that let me know I am not alone:
“Sometimes I write a Frankenstein piece. It looks fine until I notice that arms sprout where the legs should be - and unfortunately I forgot to attach a neck.”
Hey, I can do that, too. But how do I go about rescuing this deformed monster I have created? The solution proposed is…
“… structural editing, or, how to reverse engineer a piece. Structural editing makes sure that all the bones of a piece are in the right place.”
If you want to learn the four steps of structural editing, read the rest of the post over at Write To Done…
I’d love to hear about your rewriting experiences and any good tips you have. Leave a comment below to tell me about them.
