Learning the process approach to writing was the single most important element of my education as a writer.
It's been more than 20 years since Donald M. Murray, columnist, writer, and teacher extraordinaire, first introduced me to the notion that writing is not produced by magic or genius but is a series of steps and decisions that writers take and make.
That simple but powerful idea helped demystify the challenging craft that I wanted to practice. It gave writers and editors at the Providence Journal, where Murray schooled us in process in the early 1980s, a common language, a series of milestones and, most important, a set of diagnostic tools that enabled us to communicate and improve our stories.
As useful as the process approach has been to me as a writer, I've long wondered whether it shortchanged editors by overlooking the enormous and important contributions they make to the production of good writing.
Over the last year, as I've spent more time than ever working with line editors (aka assigning editors) in places like Dallas and Detroit and South Dakota, I found myself wondering about the other side of that collaborative equation.
Earlier this summer, I sketched out my idea for a process approach to editing that would serve as a companion guide to the process approach to writing. Here's a side-by-side comparison, followed by capsule descriptions and links to resources for the editor's toolbox:
THE PROCESS OF EDITING AT THE IDEA STAGE: BRAINSTORM
The editor not only assigns but works with the writer to develop, refine, and elevate ideas, manage the challenges of a beat, not only to find news but to discover the stories within.
DURING THE COLLECTING: GUIDE
The editor suggests sources and resources to the writer, draws on personal experience and knowledge to widen the reach of the reporting and research. This ensures that all bases are covered. The editor also encourages the reporter to gather an abundance of information and detail, the foundation of good writing.
AT THE ORGANIZING STAGE: EXPLORE
The editor and the writer consider the most appropriate and effective structure for the story, focusing not only on the lead but the power of the ending.
AT THE DRAFTING STAGE: LIBERATE
Recognizing that writing is a process of disovery, the editor promotes attitudes, strategies, and techniques that frees the writer to discover the story by writing.
AT THE REVISION STAGE: ENCOURAGE
Challenging journalism's first-draft culture, the editor reminds the writer that revision is not a sign of failure, but part of an ongoing and essential step in making meaning clear.
CHALLENGE
Throughout the entire process, the editor's committment to focus -- the principle that an effective piece of writing has a single dominant message, aka theme -- is relentless and underscores every decision, from where and what to report and where to begin and end to what stays in and what goes during revision. The editor also challenges the writer to meet the ethical standards of excellence.
Try the process approach to editing and let me know how it goes.
Thanks for providing me with a simple list of the...
