Yesterday, I received a note from Ericka Lutz at Literary Mama, suggesting a small edit on a story of mine they’re running in October. It was a very good edit, so precise and insightful, and, in a way, so obvious, that I was surprised I hadn’t thought of it myself. I told Ericka to go ahead with the edit, noting, “Why didn’t I think of that?” In response, she quoted a zen aphorism: “The eye that sees but cannot see itself; the sword that cuts but cannot cut itself,” adding, “That’s why, I guess, it’s often helpful to have an editor…”
The exercise: With as subjective an eye as possible, go over a story that you think is finished , looking for at least one edit that, in hindsight, seems so right-on as to be obvious.
My wife and I co-write. I’ve often joked that it’s like having an editor within the writing process. Of course, that also leads to disagreements. Hopefully, I can keep this quote in mind the next time I resist an idea of my wife’s.
Oh, my, you should rarely resist an idea of your wife’s. You get many stories/books/articles, only one wife. It’s in your best interests to please her. My husband is my first editor for everything I write. He happens to be very good at it. More importantly, he’s very good at all things spousal, so I pretty much say, “yes! yes! yes!” to almost all of his edits.