Let an editor in
By Rose Lindsey
For this month’s Words to Write By, we’ll be loosely developing a prompt based on a now-infamous quote from Maya Angelou. While being interviewed by George Plimpton for The Paris Review in 1990, she had this to say about her editing process:
“I’ve had the same editor since 1967. Many times he has said to me over the years or asked me, Why would you use a semicolon instead of a colon? And many times over the years I have said to him things like: I will never speak to you again. Forever. Goodbye. That is it. Thank you very much. And I leave. Then I read the piece and I think of his suggestions. I send him a telegram that says, OK, so you’re right. So what? Don’t ever mention this to me again. If you do, I will never speak to you again.”
For this prompt, select a piece of work that you feel pretty confident is “complete”. In particular, a poem or prose that you’ve already accomplished some revision on yourself will work best (in this same interview, Angelou emphasizes the importance of self-editing before the outside editor comes in). Give it a reread, and cherish the sensations you find most satisfying in it. Did you find the exact diction you were looking for, or does the meter feel especially poignant? Take note of what you really love about it.
Then, phone a friend who you trust with a literary eye. Hand off this work to them, and ask them to gather up a list of, at minimum, five possible editorial changes you could make. These shouldn’t be haphazardly collected without careful consideration, of course; ensure that these editorial suggestions are still substantive or meaningfully change the content of the work. But there must be at least five, with encouragement for there to be more.
When you receive this feedback, it will likely bristle you a little bit. This piece felt complete! How could your friend not grasp what it is that made your work finished? Stew in this feeling for at least a day. Let a little bit of frustration or confusion in. Overthink yourself and your worth as a creative.
When you’re ready to return to your friend’s suggestions, you may, naturally, edit the work you showed them with their feedback in mind. However, if you’d like to take this writing prompt in a second direction, utilize their feedback as the basis for a new work. For instance, if they suggested replacing a word with a separate one, ensure this new word is the centerpiece of your next piece; if they ask about how you’re using a punctuation mark, use it as sparsely as possible as you write. Use their scaffolding to create a new, technically unrelated work. Feel free to lean into that kinetic drive you felt while stewing in the feelings.
When you’re done, you’ll have completed another new draft, with the feedback of your friend as the guiding force. Thank them for their contributions, and then you may tell them to never do that to you again.