Interview with Summer Edward - Part Two: 'don't be afraid to cut'

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来自 Commonwealth Education Trust 的课程

为年轻读者而写作：打开宝箱

801 个评分

Commonwealth Education Trust

为年轻读者而写作：打开宝箱

801 个评分

This course is for curious students and aspiring authors with a passion for writing for young readers. Participate in a dynamic online community of writers as you experiment with your own writing and develop your voice. This course will guide you with a combination of video lectures, online readings, peer reviews, and guest appearances from world-renowned children’s authors. As you work through the writing exercises, you will give and receive feedback from your peers and gain tools and techniques for improving your writing. During this course you will identify stories that matter to you, explore cultural significance and boundaries, and shape your identity as a writer; become familiar with standard elements of narrative (character, setting, plot, theme, language, dialogue, point of view); reflect on your own work and practice essential self-editing skills; see the different ways in which words and art interact, and the possibilities of longer narrative forms; come away with practical insights into publishing options; and create a plan for pursuing your enthusiasm for writing. By the end of the course, you will have ten to twelve extracts of writing that you can develop into a portfolio. Join a dynamic community of many voices from around the world. Find inspiration in your own voice, heart, and place so that you can tell the stories for young readers you’ve always wanted to tell.

从本节课中

Editing and Proofreading

In this module you will learn how to transform your draft work into something that flows well, is free of errors, and is ready to be published. We’ll start by looking at structural editing, where you look at your work’s plot, structure, and themes. Then we’ll move on to the copyediting and proofreading stage, where you focus on perfecting grammar and spelling. We have provided resources and checklists that will help you to practice applying our editing tips to your own work.

Interview with Summer Edward - Part One: 'The story keeps telling itself in my mind'5:07

Interview with Summer Edward - Part Two: 'don't be afraid to cut'5:04

Interview with Summer Edward - Part Three: 'I practice silence'5:06

与讲师见面

David Hill
Author
Maria Gill
Author
Alex Alexandrou
Dr

You talked about editing getting in the way while you're writing.

Do you tend to sometimes put your work away for a while and

then come back and give it a good going over again?

>> Definitely.

I would say I do that maybe 90% of the times.

10% of the times there'll be a poem or

a story that sort of like comes out complete.

But that's very rare.

Typically, I have to put a piece away.

This can be anywhere from days to years.

There have been pieces that I put aside for years that eventually got published.

What I've learned is that it's absolutely crucial to let writing sit.

And to sort of give yourself a lot of time as a writer.

Time and patience is so important to the writing process.

>> That's for sure.

[LAUGH] Have you got any tips?

For beginner writers of what they can do with their editing.

>> One thing I would say is to have someone else

edit your work because it's very important to learn how to self edit.

I think it is a skill every writer should have.

But it is also very important to hand your work over to someone else.

And to get a second opinion, sort of a second eye.

I'm always surprised when I hand my book over to someone else,

sort of the insights I get from that person.

Because when I'm in writing I'm so attached to my story lines, I'm so

attached to my characters.

And to my way of seeing things.

But when I have a trusted editor.

And it's important that it has to be someone that you trust,

someone who can give you honest feedback,

not sort of like sugar coated feedback.

>> That's for sure, and is it someone whose a friend?

Or is it another professional editor that you sometimes give it to?

>> A bit of both.

I have sent my work to editors and that's always been just excellent.

But there's also the part of the beta reader, which is sort of like,

it can be a friend who is also a writer.

You know someone that you can trust first of all and

also someone that you know has a background in writing.

Has experience writing and so that person isn't a professional necessarily.

But they're someone who you can trust their insights.

Another thing I tip I would give to people who write as we're

editing Is to really focus on, like, look at your dialogue tags.

That's one thing I see a lot with writers.

Especially writers who are sort of first time writers or new writers.

And they tend to really want to put in a lot of different dialogue tags like

he screamed or she muttered.

He you know, he groaned and things like that.

And it makes it very colorful writing, but sometimes too colorful.

And it can be distracting.

So, it's always a safe bet to stick to he said or she said.

It makes the writing that much more realistic, writing that's clearer,

that's easier for your reader to read.

So dialogue tags were always something you can focus on when you're editing.

>> Words like said tend to disappear don't they?

So that way the speech becomes more important.

>> Definitely.

And don't be afraid to cut.

There's a lot of cutting that happens, and that's absolutely normal.

When you're writing, when you're editing.

>> Have you ever been part of a support writers group at all, in the past or now?

>> Certainly, I have belonged to critique groups.

I was a member of a woman's critique group

in Philadelphia at the Kelly Writer's house.

It was definitely an amazing experience.

What happens when you're in a community of writers is that you really gain insights,

first of all, from people who have different skills and strengths.

And weaknesses that are different from yours.

And so you sort of play off each other, which is always very helpful.

And then, again, writing can be a very lonesome, sort of solitary occupation.

You're at your desk alone, and so to be in a community of writers is important.

Because it reinforces your passion, it revitalizes you.

Sitting at a desk can be very stultifying to the mind.

When you're in a community,

there's a freshness and vigor that happens and you feel encouraged and motivated.

I've found. >> That's

>> That sounds fantastic.

Do you still belong to a group at the moment?

>> I'm currently, not a member of a group.

But I am clotted to start one in June so I am very much looking forward to that

>> Yes it sounds really good.

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