In his book, The Curmudgeon’s Guide To Getting Ahead, author Charles Murray gives some good advice on writing and thinking. He offers some tips on writing when you know what you want to say and when you’re figuring things out on the fly.
Many books on writing emphasize the raw creative thrust of charging through a draft without rereading or editing. Murray’s approach runs counter to that. Instead, he advises constant rereading and editing throughout the process.
For years, I’ve found rereading and light editing a most reliable jump-start to the creative process. Yet, I couldn’t shake that nagging voice of conventional wisdom saying, “Don’t edit so much. Just write.”
For writers who like to tinker, Murray’s advice may be the permission you need to just relax and enjoy your process.
Constantly Reread
A certain degree of infatuation with your own stuff is helpful in writing well.
Murray recommends constant rereading throughout the writing process. Don’t scrutinize viciously, but rather “skate” over the text and see how it flows. If there’s something you want to fix, just fix it.
Let yourself tweak a word here or there. Reorder sentences at will. Smooth out paragraphs. Throw sparks and play with ideas. Have fun with your writing. Don’t be afraid to cut where needed.
Enjoy the sound of your writing. Cut anything that doesn’t sound like your voice, even if it’s brilliant. It’s important to be authentic.
Fool Yourself Into Writing
Sometimes it can be difficult to carry out the physical act of drafting. This is not writer’s block but rather a natural resistance to hard work. Sometimes you just feel lazy or uninspired.
Murray advises that you work through this torpor—don’t wait for the muse.
One of the best ways to get going is to “fool yourself” into writing by rereading and editing. Some minor adjustments to something you’ve already written can be a good warm-up to get the pen (or keyboard) going onto something new. And, even if you didn’t produce a lot of good new material, you were still productive.
What To Look For When Editing
This is not a complete guide for editing, but rather a short rubric for making minor edits along your drafting process.
Adjust the order of sentences. Read through a paragraph and reorder sentences to convey the idea properly. If you use a text editor, writing one sentence per line makes this really easy.
Trim bloated sentences. Often, you will encounter a sentence that grates on the ear and doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s likely that sentence is trying to say too much and can’t handle it. Consider breaking it up or simplifying it.
Ensure smooth transitions between paragraphs. Check the last sentence of a paragraph and make sure it transitions nicely to the next.
Let The Final Draft Cool Before Sending It Out
After you have written and edited a piece, you’ll probably be tired of looking at it. You’d like nothing more than to send it off to an editor (or your critique group) so you can move on to the next thing. Avoid the temptation. Murray recommends letting that draft cool overnight. Coming back from a brief rest, you’ll surely notice something small or large and fix it on the spot.
Some writers will still insist you should charge right through a draft without editing. While others will say you should tweak along the way. There’s merit in both approaches. However, I can attest that my writing improved when I allowed myself to reread and edit along the way. It makes sense because if you spend the majority of your time drafting you may feel some resistance when the inevitable editing process begins. You may even find yourself unable to start editing. I found that by shifting between both disciplines, I got more practice in drafting and a natural comfort with editing.
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