A number of you give helpful and insightful comments on the openings of
novels that are posted here, and both the writers and I are very grateful for them. But there's a type of comment that may not be as helpful as you think.
It's a certain kind of rewrite, the kind that fails to respect the
writer's voice. There's an example from the recent comments on the
opening I posted from one of my WIPs that falls into that category, and
I thought it would be worth discussion here.
This is not to say never offer a rewrite. Rewriting can help a writer see an alternative way of expressing the narrative.
But not if it doesn't sound like his or her narrative.
When I do an edit, I'll frequently include "thought-starters" that
are either new pieces of narrative or a reconfiguring of what's there.
But the suggestions I make are, as close as I can get them, true to the
voice of the writer. Actually, I'm a pretty good mimic. I may not be
enamored of the writer's voice, but an agent or an editor might love
it, so I feel obligated to be faithful to it.
What are good reasons for offering a rewrite?
In my edits, most frequently it's where there is a lack of clarity.
If a line of narrative is clear, I'll leave it pretty much alone. If
there's a dull verb, I'll point that out -- but not change it. If it's passive, I'll point that out, and maybe give an example. But if it's clear, it's untouched.
A lack of clarity because something is missing -- especially a transition -- may be another reason to suggest words or sentences, but the suggestions need to reflect the author's or character's voice.
My editorial philosophy: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Now, I'm not picking on this particular contributor, and he's not
the only one who does what I'm talking about, nor am I trying to defend
my writing. In fact, other thoughts in his comment were worth
considering, as well as those in other comments that offered rewrites
within my narrative voice. This is about editorial philosophy, about
how I think an editor approaches trying to improve a narrative.
The problem with rewriting that is clearly not within the writer's voice -- especially if there's no problem that it's fixing -- is that the author can't use it. It won't fit. So what good is there in doing it?
In the last post, the 16 lines I put out there ended with this paragraph:
Kurt placed the gun back on a plaque that displayed a Bronze Star
medal and a brass plate that read, "Major Jefferson T. Dengler." His
grandfather hadn't made it home from World War II, but his heroism and
his sidearm had. Kurt used his tie to polish away a fingerprint,
snatched up the TIME and the new polls, and left his West Wing office for the Rose Garden.
A reader wrote this as a suggested replacement:
Kurt laid the gun carefully beside a plaque displaying a Bronze Star
above a brass plate that read simply "Major Jefferson T. Dengler."
Kurt's grandfather hadn't made it home from World War II, but his
heroism and his sidearm had.
A quick swipe of his tie served to polish away any fingerprints. Then Kurt snatched up the TIME and the new polls and left his West Wing office for the Rose Garden.
When I read this, I wondered why the changes were there. To me, the
original wording was perfectly clear. For example, in terms of clarity,
Kurt placed the gun back on a plaque
seems clear, and there's nothing gained by changing it to
Kurt laid the gun carefully beside a plaque
An unnecessary adverb was added, and the action was changed -- the gun went beside the plaque instead of on it. Why the changes?
Here's another puzzler. The original line:
Kurt used his tie to polish away a fingerprint,
And the rewrite that seems to be a change done solely to match the voice of the editor rather than the writer:
A quick swipe of his tie served to polish away any fingerprints.
To my eye/ear, both voice and meaning are changed. Even the visual picture intended by the original is changed.
- We go from a fingerprint on the plaque, which we can visualize, to
a vague "any fingerprints" that may or may not be there, and we can't
visualize. Remember that specifics create reality in a reader's mind,
generalizations do not.
- We go from the character doing something to his tie doing something, a shift from active to passive.
- We go from polishing, which I think evokes a clear picture of
a brief rubbing of a particular spot to make it clean and bright, to a
"quick swipe" which seems to me the opposite of polishing.
- The rewrite is 3 words longer, but to no purpose.
- The use of "served to" is the biggest departure from the
original voice, in my view. If you go back to the original post and
read the whole sample, that kind of lingo just doesn't happen.
So why the rewrite? I don't think there was a clarity issue--
the guy taking his tie to polish away a fingerprint seems perfectly
clear. Why change polishing to swiping? Why change a fingerprint to any
fingerprints? Why go from active to passive?
The answer here is because the revisions sounded better to the
editor's ear. Well, that's not a good reason to do a comprehensive
rewrite of narrative. If you don't care for the author's voice, live
with it. It will never conform with yours, nor should it.
So stifle your own voice
The point of all this is the care I owe a writer to respect the
voice and intent of the narrative, and so do you. In fact, an editor's
function is sometimes to help reveal the writer's voice by weeding the
narrative of clutter that obscures it.
In my view, you don't alter the meaning and action that's presented
if there's nothing incorrect about it. You don't change the flavor of
the language from the author's to yours, though you can suggest ways to
enhance it within the writer's style.
When you're critiquing another writer, whether in a critique group,
online, a friend, whomever, leave your own wonderful voice in its box.
Okay, now I'm stepping down off my soap box. I DO NOT want to
discourage this commenter or any other from helping the writers who
appear on FtQ. But sometimes the advice, as in this case, just
isn't helpful, at least the way I see it. When you suggest alternative
language, you'll help the writer most if it fits with the rest of the
narrative, and especially when it focuses on an issue such as a lack of
clarity.
For what it's worth.
Comments, anyone?
Ray
Public floggings available. If I can post it here,
- send 1st chapter or prologue as an attachment (cutting and pasting and reformatting from an email is a time-consuming pain) and I'll critique the first couple of pages.
- Please include in your email permission to post it on FtQ.
- And, optionally, permission to use it as an example in a book if that's okay.
- If you're in a hurry, I've done "private floggings," $50 for a first chapter.
- If you rewrite while you wait you turn, it's okay with me to update the submission.
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© 2008 Ray Rhamey