Challenges, part 1
This is Part 1 of the post on "challenges and reaching the next level" that I referred to in
Friday's post.
Writing has an incredibly long apprenticeship. It takes years to learn to write well, to produce stories that people who are unrelated to us would care to read. And even when we find an audience, there’s the risk of the writing getting stale or automatic.
For writers at every stage, critical questions are: How do we keep growing and improving? What’s the best thing we can do at any rung of the ladder to move up to the next one?
When I look back at the main factor that moved me from writing stories that were competent to those that would stand out in a slush pile, it was:
Revision.
I went from revising my stories several times to revising them dozens or scores of times. My polishing goal went from “shiny” to “blindingly reflective.” I pushed myself in the quality of my revisions as well as the quantity: challenging myself to cut more deeply into the material, to try new techniques, to channel more real emotion into the stories. When I received editorial advice, I remembered it, and applied it not only to the story in question but to the next story and the one after that.
But for each of us, the “next level” hurdle may be set at a different place, depending upon the experience and talent we bring to the table. Stay tuned for more on that ...
Writing has an incredibly long apprenticeship. It takes years to learn to write well, to produce stories that people who are unrelated to us would care to read. And even when we find an audience, there’s the risk of the writing getting stale or automatic.
For writers at every stage, critical questions are: How do we keep growing and improving? What’s the best thing we can do at any rung of the ladder to move up to the next one?
When I look back at the main factor that moved me from writing stories that were competent to those that would stand out in a slush pile, it was:
Revision.
I went from revising my stories several times to revising them dozens or scores of times. My polishing goal went from “shiny” to “blindingly reflective.” I pushed myself in the quality of my revisions as well as the quantity: challenging myself to cut more deeply into the material, to try new techniques, to channel more real emotion into the stories. When I received editorial advice, I remembered it, and applied it not only to the story in question but to the next story and the one after that.
But for each of us, the “next level” hurdle may be set at a different place, depending upon the experience and talent we bring to the table. Stay tuned for more on that ...
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