How a good editor can change everything...
I paid her to destroy me 🤯
This probably isn’t news to you, but writing is a lonely game. And I—natural introvert, sensitive empath, and die-hard creative—am perfectly (almost dangerously) suited to it.
Which makes it all the more important to seek outside perspectives on my fiction, before I attempt to do anything public with it. Otherwise I could easily fall into a private Plato’s cave of perfect little pieces of shadow-dancing prose meaningful only to me.
Because ultimately—though what I love most is the actual solitary writing part, the wordplay and boundless astral flight—the undeniable truth is I’m also demon-driven to share my words out broadly and touch people’s lives, including those I’ll never meet.
So a few months ago, when I finished my first draft of my latest novel (Animal Farm for the MAGA era), I hired a professional editor to tell me how much it sucked.
I paid her NOT to be nice 👨💻🔨
For the past 20 years (!) I’ve been expanding my writing skills and experience through various formal and informal means—but last week for the first time in years, I managed to feel like a beginner again.
I’ve had no shortage of great suggestions & advice through the years, from magazine editors and informal fiction readers, and I’m very receptive to any helpful ideas about my prose. But my first experience with a formal fiction editor managed to break open not only my would-be novel itself—but also my process of writing it, and any future novels.
🏺 A shattered vessel repaired with gold
Let it be confessed in bold italics, I’m a born freewriting freak—juggling entire worlds, characters, conversations, plotlines, themes, wordbanks, and more, in the magic trapper-keeper of my mind…painstakingly organized by intuitive pathways inscrutable even to me.
But turns out that superpower is a super double-edged blade, and it can dig you deep into a decades-long hole of superhuman discipline…powering through 10,000 hours utterly heedless to the foundation missing underneath. Building incredible polished works on sand, which crumble to beautiful shards upon inspection.
Well last week I was saved from that continued Sisyphean trajectory by a true master of the editorial craft.
🔎 What is an Editorial Assessment?
First we talked about what I’m hoping to get out of this, and the Whys of my project. Then Cara took time to carefully read the entire 400-page manuscript 2-3 times, making notes and assembling her full assessment.
Finally we talked for almost two hours, touching on what’s working and what’s desperately falling short…and she walked me through the critical components at the foundation of any good story, no matter how it’s told.
🗝️ Essential Elements of Story
After years of schooling, none of these concepts were new to me—but somehow Cara brought them all home in a cohesive, direct, obvious way that clicked and revealed what I’ve been missing all this time, like an optometrist switching to option B.
Character
Without getting too into it, my narrator character wasn’t right for the role—and I wasn’t right to write her. It was a good concept, but Cara suggested a much better one, more in line with my intentions and what the story is about…with plenty of relevant conflict and personal stakes, flaws and opportunities for connection.
Central Question/Argument
A single-sentence driving force & thru-line that carries the whole story like a ridgepole, and gets answered (in some way) by the climax.
Can men & women be just friends? – When Harry Met Sally
Can love triumph over enmity/rivalry? – Romeo & Juliet
Is family more important than ethics/values? – Godfather
Is vengeance worth it? – Numerous
Here’s mine: Can small acts of bravery/defiance/connection make a difference?
Main Plotpoints
Every well-wrought story of any length follows this essential pattern (with some variation depending on medium, character contingent, and other factors):
Act I
Intro character & world
Inciting Incident
Accepts the Journey
Act II
Midpoint/Ramp-up
Act III
Turning Point / Final piece of knowledge
Climax
Resolution/Denouement
Scene By Scene Outline
With the above points all covered, my next step begins with a big blank wall of my office, divided into Acts I-III.
Using sticky putty and notecards (color coded for each main character), I’ll lay out the story outline, connecting the dots between Main Plotpoints…with each notecard structured thus:
Character WANTS _____ BUT _____ SO _____
After that, the actual writing/composition should roll out easy peasy; finishing touches on a building made to stand and deliver for the ages.
🪄✨ Good editors transform writers into authors
My experience with Cara was shattering & uplifting, revealing & inspiring…and absolutely worth every penny—10x the pennies, if I had it to give.
I’m so excited for this new way forward, I’m trembling with anticipation writing this…itching to get at those notecards and start rewriting from scratch the story I meant to write in the first place.
With this one smart/lucky move, I just fully leveled up my character in this novel-writing game. All that remains is to enter the arena and flex my new capabilities, see how far it can take me...
✍️
PS – Want to change your own writing life for good? Here’s your personal Accepts The Journey moment: Comment/reply and I’ll connect you with the best editor I’ve ever met.