Comments on: Editor’s Lament

By: The Editor’s Blog — A Remarkable Resource for All Writers « Bertram's Blog

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 23:28:09 +0000

[...] Editor’s Lament [...]

By: Fiction Editor Beth Hill

Fiction Editor Beth Hill — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 03:41:51 +0000

When we don’t get lost in the fiction, when we’re distracted by something other than the story, we just can’t enjoy a book. You’re right, Armstrong—distractions can pull us straight out of story. Anything that makes the reader notice the writing or the foundations is a distraction.

By: F. Armstrong Green

F. Armstrong Green — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:47:38 +0000

Almost every novel I’ve read in the last ten to fifteen years has suffered from very bad editing. I’m talking about even novels by otherwise great writers. And I’m talking about small and large editing matters.
Writers must take charge of finished product and bear the ultimate responsibility for their craft. Max Perkins is gone.
The biggest, most pervasive error is the use of a first-person narrator when a central intelligence omniscient narrator would work better. You can do everything with a central intelligence that you can with first-person–and more. A first-person narrator is by nature subjective and thus unable tell a story in an objective, totally truthful manner.
The second most egregious error is repetition of the focus character’s name when “he/she/him/her/his/hers” will serve. The use of a character’s name is the primary signal of a shift of the focus of the narrative and becomes a miscue when done improperly. The grammar of fiction is not English grammar but rather the grammar of the psyche. Faulkner did not even name at least one of his characters. Writers want to keep the psychic distance close to the focus character; to name the character too often reminds the reader that he’s reading.
The reader’s responsibility is to imagine, visualize, and become personally involved with one or more of the characters, or to otherwise project himself into the action. The writer must not do anything that breaks, as John Gardner called it, the fictive dream.
Smaller editing matters that betray the writer range from bad paragraphing to improper usage of simple verbs and words such as “bring” and “take”; “come” and “go”; “rise” and “raise”; and “literally,” which almost never works. These are eighth grade matters and become maddening distractions from the fictive dream.
But don’t get me started.

By: Olivia Cunning

Olivia Cunning — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:51:14 +0000

Every editor I’ve ever worked with has been amazing, including you, Beth. Sometimes I don’t want to hear what they have to say–it usually means more work for me, the author–but they’ve always had the best interest of my work at heart and have saved me from many blunders.

I love my editors. Every last one of them. From the big-picture, head editor to the assistant making sure I use chord instead of cord in the appropriate location. I can understand your frustration.

By: Beth

Beth — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:09:17 +0000

Judi, there are the good and the not so good. But, I’m guessing the good outnumber the not good by a wide margin.

And thanks.

By: Judi Fennell

Judi Fennell — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:46:11 +0000

Caveat emptor. As you say, there are bad and sterling examples in every field.

You, my dear, are a sterling example.

By: Beth

Beth — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 04:22:30 +0000

Most people don’t say boo to people in their real world. But they’ll put all sorts of things out in public when they’re online. As you do, Lisa, I understand frustration. But courtesy has its place too.

By: Lisa K.

Lisa K. — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 02:37:35 +0000

While I understand that sometimes people speak out of frustration, I never understand those kind of blanket complaints that you see on the internet about editors or agents or publishers or, well, just about anyone. I think that old advice applies: if you don’t have anything nice to say…