#WriteTips: 4 Views - Onoh, Mulgrew, Davids and Otter

Nuzo Onoh

My number one editing tip is - Never do it all by yourself as a writer. The eyes can never see all that the brain can conceive. No matter how well you write, you can never pick out all your errors, as you know the story too well, know exactly what’s going to happen and therefore, see what your mind tells you to see.

As for writing, don’t assume you’re a brilliant writer just because your dearest and nearest or your egotistical self tells you that you can write. Raw talent, no matter how amazing, is still what it is, Raw. It needs thorough cooking to become palatable. So, take a writing course. It doesn’t have to be a degree. It will teach you the basic rudiments of writing and the discipline needed to stick to it and make your natural talent even more incredible. Good luck and may fame and success shine on all us slaves of the ink.

 

 

 

Nick Mulgrew

Write your first draft as you would an exam: quickly; just get it all down. Then, edit at a languid pace. The slower, the better.

When you edit, think deeply about how sentences sound when they’re read out loud, or in the mind’s voice. Consider rhythm. Avoid repetition. Simplify. This goes as much for prose as poetry.

Writing is a kind of fitness: work out every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nadia Davids

Write. Put it Down. Leave it. Come back much later. Cut. Repeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlotte Otter

Leave as long a gap as your deadline allows between writing and editing. That way, your ego does not get in the way when it is time to cut the crap. The more crap you cut, the more the flawless heart of your story will shine through. If you start editing too early, your brain will try to trick you into thinking that the crap is flawless. And it never is.

 

 

 

#WriteTips: Three Writers, Three Perspectives.

Earlier in the year we were lucky enough to interview Yewande Omotoso, Mahtem Shiferraw and Edyth Bulbring - three writers who are equally talented but have quite different styles. They gave some insight into the writing process and self-editing and hopefully some of these gems inspire and challenge you.  

 

Yewande Omotoso

On Writing

 

- Give yourself permission.

- For people who “don’t have time to write” carry a notebook everywhere. Sure you might not have chunks of hours available but everyone has a few seconds to take down a sentence or two – this is writing. 

On Editing

- Edit with the question, “Does this belong? If it wasn’t there would they miss it?”

 

 

Mahtem Shiferraw 

- Things that really helped me: read your work out loud. A lot. Always. Distance too; learning to distance yourself from the work & give it enough room to breathe.

- Always inquire. What does the work want to be? Measure the work within the parameters of itself, not of others' work. Don’t be afraid to take it apart, and by that I mean: do take it apart. Don’t kill your darlings, but extract them, & place them somewhere else; you never know what they will blossom into.

- Share your work with peers, family, friends, co-workers; it’s always good to hear how your work is reflected in the world.

- Sometimes it’s good to begin things in the middle and work your way around a poem/story.

- And the golden rule: read. Read everything & anything. Reading will not only make you a great writer & editor, but a wonderful human being too.

 

Edyth Bulbring

  1. Cut, cut, cut (Less is more)

  2. Don’t be scared of a good adjective or adverb

  3. Be very scared of an exclamation mark!

  4. Use simple words

  5. Avoid long sentences

 

 

 

#WriteTips: The 2015 Short Story Day Africa Prize Winners.

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Cat Hellisen 

- Don't be afraid to push yourself beyond your comfort zone when it comes to writing.

- Write for yourself; edit for your readers.

- Work the way that works for you, not the way Random Experts tell you is the One True Way.

- It's okay to not be a writer and have a real life.

 

 

 

Alex Latimer

- Take a writing course or find someone to mentor you. It’ll save you a lot of time.

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Winkler

-  Plan. You’d be crazy to set out on a marathon without knowledge of the route, or how long it’s going to be. You simply can’t sit down and try to channel your inner Hemingway without the vaguest notion of where you’re heading.

- Then, write with your writing glasses on (these could glitter-rimmed, or a pilot’s goggles, a spy’s Ray-Bans, or a psychopath’s binoculars). Write from beginning to end without concern for typos, loose ends, ugly sentences, laughable dialogue, or word count. If you get stuck, it’s only because you took a wrong decision somewhere. Backtrack until you find it, refer to your plan, fix it, and then fix your writing.

- When you think you’re done, rewrite the whole thing – three, five, a dozen times.

- Once you feel you have a reasonably coherent manuscript in your hands, walk away from it. The longer the piece, the longer you should let it rest – it’s the only way to develop any semblance of objectivity.

- When you return to it, put on your editing glasses (sensible, horn-rimmed, thick-lensed). Tighten screws, polish surfaces, iron out lumps, and bin anything that doesn’t build on what you’re trying to achieve.

- Once you get to work with an editor, remember that they’re only trying to make your work better. Listen, debate, discuss – and learn to roll over when necessary.

#WriteTips From The 2016 Judges.

- Read! Read! Read! This is the writer’s greatest teacher

- Writing is work. Work at it – practice makes perfect

- When you have written ‘The End’ – put the piece aside for some time before you publish it

- Revise ... revise ... revise

- Criticism ... welcome it; don’t defend yourself or your work. Take it home and consider it a gift and use it as you see fit. Not all of it will be good. It is up to you, the creator of your work to see what seems to make sense.

- Trust your gut feeling – after all, it is your work, comes out of you, your creation

 

H J Golakai  

- Never work hungry – truly, don’t be a bloody hero. You’ll have to toss most of it when you read it back later with a glucose-happy brain.

- Don’t try and ‘sell’ your voice. It takes awhile to sound like yourself but that’s the joy of the thing, evolving. Never write for the sake of perfecting a style. Pour yourself into your story because that’s what matters. Some great author said the perfection of style signals the demise of your imagination, and I really believe that. Trust your characters to tell you what your story will sound like.

- You can never read enough. Ever. I recently found myself reading a thriller on my phone at a funeral. Did I feel like the biggest buttwipe on the planet? – definitely. Did I stop? – hell no.

- Get a bunch of voracious readers and/or good writers to show your work to. Feedback is essential. Many younger writers make the mistake of being so afraid of criticism that they squirrel their work away, yet they’re puzzled as to why they can’t find a publisher or win a competition. Because you sound terrible, and there’s no one but you to tell you that. Make your circle bigger.

- Stop worrying about winning competitions, getting famous or even finding a publisher. Seriously, stop. Get the work ready and it will find a home.

- Create a daily writing regimen and do your best to stick to it. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t. Just try and do a little bit of writing or editing every day.

 

Tendai Huchu

- Leave completed manuscript in the fridge-freezer for as long as possible.

- Procrastinate – it helps.

- Get a beta reader you trust.

 - Retrieve hacksaw and scalpel from toolbox, collect manuscript from fridge and proceed to hack away.

- Call Batman.