Trekking Rim to Rim

Imagine hiking the Grand Canyon. You descend the trail in the cool morning, mesmerized by the majestic cliffs illuminated in a breathtaking sunrise. You stop for a few grinning selfies and delight in the limestone, sandstone and shale layers surrounding you. Once you reach the snaking Colorado River at the bottom, you pump your fists skyward, savoring the triumph.

But your trek is only half done. In the heat of the long afternoon, you trudge back up the rim. This time the view has become a little stale and the sweat makes your T-shirt stick to your back. You bat away the buzzing insects and lick your chapped lips. Why does the return trip up take so much longer than the journey down?

Every author has had a similar experience in the privacy of their favorite writing spot. Drafting a manuscript parallels the giddy start of the trip. Excitement and enthusiasm propels the novelist forward through the hero’s journey. The thrill of exploring new characters racing through the unfolding plot gives momentum to finally type “the end” after 100,000+ words or so.

Turns out, it’s only the beginning. When someone utters the dreaded word editing, writers often break out in hives as they tremble at their keyboards. The long slog of hiking up that metaphorical canyon one agonizing edit at a time would be bad enough once, but the process takes multiple passes. Someone once said you should write a book you love because you’re going to have to read it a hundred times before you’re done with it.

Sometimes it takes a thick skin to plod through the comments from your critique group or editor with an open-mind. Going all mama bear in defense of the manuscript may be a natural reaction, but taking a second look at that awkward phrasing or cliché wording usually strengthens the writing and the writer.

It may be painful, but the value of editing cannot be understated. After all, one word can change so much. Check out these writer’s outtakes.

The pup muzzled nuzzled her arm. (Can’t you just picture a dog attaching a muzzle to his companion’s elbow?)

She pooped popped a chip in her mouth. (Ewww, gross. Just snapped the reader right out of the story.)

He threw up his arms in frustration. (This one could use a rewrite to keep the reader from thinking body parts have flown across the room.)

And it’s common knowledge that commas save lives, as evidenced by:

Let’s eat Grandma!
vs.
Let’s eat, Grandma!

Kate likes cooking her family and her cat.
vs.
Kate likes cooking, her family, and her cat.

A woman, without her man, is nothing.
vs.
A woman: Without her, man is nothing.

Enough said. Editing may be tedious, time-consuming, and maddening at times, but it remains an indispensable part of the writing process. Thorough revisions may be just what that manuscript needs to transform it from good to great. The return trip across the canyon will be challenging, but it’s definitely worth it.