Toi here and welcome back to Lit Carnivale.
Today, I want to talk about The Technical Side Of Writing
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1. I want to start today talking about the semantics of writing. Whether a writer writes for their own self-gratification, or to pursue publication, they know there is more to writing to than simply coming up with words to put on a paper or a screen. If someone is maintaining a journal of their stream of consciousness, they rarely go back and edit what they’ve written, That’s not the point of the exercise. Just like running a mile on a wilderness path isn’t about staying perfectly in the center of the path. You’ll never see a runner go back for redo because their foot got too close the edge of the path. As long as the runner completes the mile, they are happy, and as long as the writers completes the journal entry, they are happy.
Sometimes, though, there is more to writing. The writer may return to that journal entry and extract pieces of it to dissect and rework to help better convey a thought or emotion. On the surface, this may look like editing, but it could also be part of the creative process. Playing around with word choices, sequence, and structure can transform the stream of consciousness into a list of goals, a poem, a short story, or heartfelt letter. It has nothing to do with grammar and syntax, but everything to do with creative expression.
2. Then there is the more technical side of writing where editing takes over. There are two main types of self-editors, with some variations, of course. There are the writers who love to self-edit. These writers sometimes struggle to complete their ideas because they’re editing their work as is falling out onto the page or screen. Then there are those writers who highly dislike, bordering on hate, to edit. These are the writers who may want to share their work with others but not enough to edit it so others can easily take in their creativity. These writers will sometimes just keep their writing to themselves to avoid having to edit it. I admit, this can be me sometimes. For me, my creativity vastly outshines my technical skills. Editing my writing is a nightmare but I know it’s important if I want to share my work, so I rely on beta-readers and professionals, when the time comes.
3. Let’s consider for a moment how this relates to my ability to podcast. I have tried to go with the flow but have found that a loose script is the way to go for my interviews. And after some rough initial posts of this podcast, a more detailed script helps keep me in focus. When it comes to recording episodes of the Read Local and Read All Over Show, that’s the fun part. Then I have to edit the content and make it fit the video and audio formats. While I wouldn’t describe this part as fun, it’s not a bother either. I get stressed when I think about editing my writing, but when I think about editing podcasts, I don’t mind a bit.
Question: Does your creative side overshadow your technical side? I’d love to know.
Until next time, stay safe, keep reading, and be blessed.
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Credits
Lit Carnivale Season 1, Episode 13.
Staring Toi Thomas.
Featuring no one else at this time.
Topics Discussed: Creative skills vs technical skills, The Semantics of Writing, Editing
Produced by Toi Thomas in association with The ToiBox of Words and Lit Carnivale.
Directed by Toinette “Toi” Thomas.
Thanks again to the Lit Carnivale Community at Substack, YouTube, and wherever you can hear this podcast.
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