The Writer's Mailbag: Installment 286

Bill

I think I read this article a couple of days ago but didn't have the time to really sit down and 'take in' what you were saying, I'm glad I came back to it.

Regarding Editing, I think that for most writers you've pretty much got it nailed with your description.

Great news on the Memoir, though I think I need to stop commenting now as my machine just copied and pasted from a doc I closed out fifteen minutes ago (you almost got a peek at the latest Scorpion one adventure!)

All can say is I'm sat next to the aircon as it's over 90 degrees farenheit with 100% humidity outside at the moment, and I'm on holiday (hence working on the latest Novel, something you were instrumental in getting me started with, writing novels!)

Bye for now

Lawrence

Good!

Ann

Hi Bill. Wow, there are so many questions that haven't been asked before in the mailbag series. You answered each one well. You remind us that knowledge is vital! Thanks for sharing!

You are so disciplined when it comes to writing schedule. Wish I could be as regular and disciplined!

Sorry to read that Bev is poorly. I hope she is improving and soon 100%. It's that time of year - ugh!

Ann

I love all your suggestions. They are always so practical and humorous.

Blessings,

Denise

Bill, my friend, really interesting questions this week. Your novel's name seems quite diverse and unique. Your routine of writing is promising but unfortunately, I can't follow such schedule as have got kids to take care.

Though I do reading mostly, and some writing also on my next novel.

Thanks for this terrific mailbag installment.

Happy Fastive Season ahead!

Sorry for being late, was very busy with some home stuff as holidays are coming upon.

Blessings to you and Bev!

I think sometimes we find we do not want to follow our set writing schedule. We just don't feel like writing. I like how you say you write anyway. I think even if we don't feel like it, we will become engrossed as we go. Another great writer's handbag. Thanks Bill!

Thanks Bill will look forward to that

I must seem quite insufferable the way I pick up on small, seemingly inconsequential, details. That's just the way I'm hard-wired. I annoy a lot of people that way and that's just the way it is.

Sorry to hear Bev is unwell. Hope she's better soon.

Must return to my Christmasing. You have a great day too, Bill.

Interesting comments, as ever, Bill. I learn a lot from reading these articles. I am a great fan of the thought that everyone has a story to tell or a memoir within them. Your comments about proof reading and editing confirm what I thought (which is encouraging).

When you write for 4 hours, do you take regular breaks or do you plough on solidly? I find my concentration starts to go after a while. I was interested at your technique for switching gears. Often as I come to work again on a hub, I read through earlier paragraphs.

I don't think believability matters with a memoir as long as it is the true story. As someone once said (I think) 'truth is stranger than fiction.'

Surely the texting GMTA Great Minds Think Alike comes from this quirky habit that humans have of sometimes thinking the same thoughts.

I hope you meet your memoir deadline, Bill.

I'll tell You something about proofreading: not enough is done. I honestly find misspellings in all sorts of books, from big publishers, not like "I publish my own stuff" type of people. So, I would expect Random House (as a quick example but poor Random House, I'm always after it somehow lmao) to have absolutely no spelling mistakes in the books it publishes. Yet, that is not the case.

Maybe having a few people proofread might do away with all the small mistakes and typos. I just don;t think enough times is allotted to proofreading. Everyone wants the books to be out on the shelves, I suppose.

"I want to be a great writer, and the only way I know to achieve that is to practice." - That was good to read. You know, like the FIrst Nations say that we are mirrors one to another? Ya ... that sentence made me realize that I actually do not care to be a "great writer". I just love writing, haha!! Thank You for answering my question though. : )

"One is a memoir, no creativity allowed" - Well, You can be creative on the structure of your memoir, on the tone You use and of course in what You chose to speak of and what You chose not to speak of. The other thing I was just thinking of is that Life itself is a creative process so, if You are writing about life, You are writing about creativity. This is a bit of a stretched-out thought but I still find it to be the case.

"There are many things I have done that I’m sure a great proportion of my readers will think are fiction" - I had a police officer take my sacred tabacco last year instead of my weed. She had already left when I realized that I still had all my weed in my bag (after two officers had already looked through it) and my sacred tabacco was gone. So, I walked about twenty minutes to the police station and had her come back there to meet me. When I told her that I still had my weed but I was missing my sacred tabacco she didn't want to believe me. She pulled-out the plastic bag she took from my bag (with the sacred tabacco) and said: "So, what's this?" Haha!!! I wanted to laugh so badly. I just told her that she was holding my sacred tabacco used for prayer and I pulled-out the bag of weed she had left in my bag. At that point, the lobby of the police station immediately reeked like weed and she extended her left hand towards me with the bag of tabacco in her hand saying: "Okay, trade." So, I gave her the bag with weed, took my sacred tabacco back and walked out. Most people think I was nuts for walking bcak to the police station and giving her my weed but hey: ""There are many things I have done that I’m sure a great proportion of my readers will think are fiction".

I believe in ESP too but I think it is very plausible to have to people write about the same thing because we do have similar experiences sometimes. I mean, You can be hunting deer in Olympia, or in Ontario, or in Romania and have a very similar experience. Then, write about it. It can totally happen.

" And yet I am human, just as you are" - What's this "human" thing You talk about?

Thank You for the writing. Enjoy the snow! Haha!! ; )

Hi Bill. Congratulations on getting to the final edit of your memoir. I’m pretty sure you’ve answered this in the past, but I’ll ask anyway. Where did the title “And the Blind Shall See” come from, and what is the significance of the title. By the way, I love the title.

Thanks for the reply, Bill.

So, in essence, you need to recreate the world you made in order to inhabit it again and continue the story. That's pretty cool.

You mentioned that when writing your memoirs there's no creativity allowed. I'm not entirely certain I understand what you mean. You're writing about real events from your past, you don't have to make it up. I get that. However, writing about these events in a manner that invites us to read more surely involves some creativity, yes?

Have a good day, Bill.

It is great to have a writing schedule and stick to the schedule. To top it all you can switch gears to handle two different writing pieces. I am in awe! Congratulations on being close to finishing your memoir.

I agree with you totally on memoirs being cathartic. I wrote a bit of one several years ago, and cried throughout. I had been depressed and moping about how hard our life had been. When I got done with it, I felt so much better, and the comments I received made me realize that it really had been hard to get through. Not just me feeling sorry for myself. I also felt so much gratitude, that the hard part was over and It was so much easier. I felt free of the pain and bitterness I had been feeling. It really is a good thing to write about hardships and really see them for what they were, self-made or imaginary, or just circumstance.

Hi Bill!

Your memoir would be interesting to read. Enjoyed going through the mailbag, as always.

Thanks for the answer to explain the difference between proof reading and editing. Other answers are equally useful.

Thanks for sharing another wonderful installment.

Hi, Bill. You know what Fleetwood Mac says - "Yesterday's gone." But I'm here today on this lovely Tuesday. Thanks for more information to keep us going.

Bang on Bill with the editing bit, for me, that is. I would add just a pinch of what you have said in a different way, that is, some sentences can be moved around to come before or after, to enhance the flow of the piece. Wordiness can also be totally omitted and paragraph scheme can be altered.

Finally, unless the editor is a Ghost-writer, skilled editing is done in such a way, as to allow the writer to retain his voice. Some writers don't mind as long as they get the credit.

I have agreed with you on the Mark Twain idea before and while at it, I truly love this man. Some say he was America's finest, a kind of Shakespeare to us or Dickens, I suppose. I like Whitman too and so many more.

It can also be an intuitive thing, rather like what I have with Ioannis (Sean), if you know the person well or are receptive to his work. Esoterically, it's harder for us to use the old in a straightforward way, as there is a force in us urging us to create. I suppose what we can and do sometimes, is to take an old idea and enhance it beyond measure.

I have this exercise, where I listen to great poets, to see if there is any cliché I recognise. There nearly always are. They are not stealing it, but it has been handed down from books, parents, scriptures, environment, media and schools. Sorry I have said a lot today Bro.

I feel that your memoir will be awesome!

I think it's brilliant to write a memoir, bill. Isn't it strange that when we write about something that happened to us or something about a family event, we relive it but something else pops up - I guess it's that as we age we have a different viewpoint or that we realise an angle on it that wasn't apparent at the time. I think it is cathartic but it can be so painful. We have to be honest, though, and tell it like it was, unless we cheat and just pick out the good bits!

Love the quote from Mark Twain but then I love Mark Twain - such a clever, witty and honest man.

From a very dull Burnham-on-Sea - but a positive is that the wind has died down!

Ann

First off, let me congratulate you on writing your memoir, Bill. It is always interesting to read your answers, and, as always a wonderful learning experience for me. Thank you.

Wonderful questions this week. I appreciate those asking them as well as your intelligent answers.

Regarding memoirs, I too feel it is a very difficult and bold effort of putting forth your feelings and weaknesses in the form of text. I have just published a similar-type book in the Hindi language on KDP. It was only a short novel of 32,000 words about a woman suffering pain throughout her life, but at the same time fighting back as far as possible till her death. It turned out to be 70-pages one consuming hard work of more than six months.

Wow, Bill,

I always learn from your writings. I am horrible at these processes and still love to write. I wish for an editing fairy to come into my brain and yet I believe I will be at heaven's gate when that occurs, LOL!

I published my memoir at the request of my Docs years ago. Cathartic is an understatement, now that I have outlived the first and added to the story by adding significant challenges not depicted in the first and living through it all with God's grace, I am encouraged by others to write the sequel, I will not be doing that. I did not want to write the first but did that for my family.

I do however appreciate the article writing. While I massacre the proofreading and editing, I love to write and share life with others. God speed Mr. Bill as you write your beautiful story. I know your words will enlighten many.

Peace and Prayers always

Bill, you say "no creativity allowed" when writing a memoir. Not so. The creative aspect of writing narrative nonfiction—memoir, travel writing, true accounts of historical events (a crime, a business venture, an exploration expedition, whatever), and so on—is making it both entirely true and as gripping to read as fiction. That's why it's called creative nonfiction. Memoir: FLYING by Kate Millett; THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion; THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF by Malcolm X; DARKNESS VISIBLE: A MEMOIR OF MADNESS by William Styron. True accounts: THE SOUL OF A MACHINE by Tracy Kidder; INTO THE WILD by Jon Krakauer; TEN DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD by John Reed. Two qualities I notice in such works are integrity and intensity. As I recall, your novel RESURRECTING TOBIAS, along with other works by you, has those qualities.

Good evening, Bill, better late than never. You and Liz are both right about the difference between editing and proofreading. but do you mind if I add my two cents worth? One very important difference is the role of the editor as a fact checker. For instance, you are editing a story by a reporter in the newspaper who quoted the Governor as saying something specific about the new act he just signed into law. You check to see if he really said that. If the quote is incorrect, then you either correct the quote or delete it. Another duty is to make sure there are no conflicts in what you are editing. Your travel writer said “I think everyone should visit Amsterdam” in the first paragraph, but later on in his article, he says that something is bad and advises the traveler to stay away. He has neglected to mention that in that paragraph he is referring to the infamous red-light district in the city, and that fact has to be added to rule out a conflict. Editing is really a complicated process in which the editor interacts more with the writer than the proofreader does.

Working on two or more projects at a time: It was my experience that as an editor, we had to be able to multitask our editing projects, but that is a little different from writing. In writing, it's our muse that does the multitasking. What really is the muse? Is it inspiration from above? I don't know. I just know that my unpublished story from 2007 is still sitting in my computer because a writer here on HP published the same plot in a flash fiction a couple of years ago. I've mentioned this before, but I wanted to mention it again in light of DreamOn's question to let her know that it happened to me.

Have a good rest of the week, my friend.

Another word I hear is "revising" or "revisions." I don't know if that's a legitimate interchangeable term with Editing.

I am very eager to read your memoir. And I am glad to know someone else works on two projects at the same time. I've been working on a memoir as well, although I give my other book priority.

I appreciate this column so much.

I like to read anything you write. You have the gift, so writing your memoir should come naturally. Best wishes my friend.

Congratulations on being so close to finishing your memoir, Bill. It should be very satisfying to finish it during the Christmas season.

The last paragraph is very encouraging. Yes, there is a story in each of us and writing a memoir is one way of telling it. I wish I can be as disciplined as you are in your schedule. I just can't seem to stick to it.

This was a very interesting mailbad and congratualtions on getting to the end of your memoir. It is worth writing for you to learn new things about yourself and for your friends.

I believe in esp and I really like Mark Twain's quote. I believe that is so true. You are very disciplined in your 5 day a wek writing schedule and that is good I think. You do help writers spread their wings, a worthy goal.

Hi Bill great to hear of your Memoir. Just one question about grammar check please. What is the easiest way to grammar check?

Congratulations on your memoir. You have had an unusual life and have a message to share with the world!

Another excellent mailbag! I had a good laugh at your ending there.. "Have a great week, unless you've made other plans, of course." haha! I love that! Sending you lots of well wishes for the week ahead, my friend!

Thanks, Bill. My daughter convinced me recently of the same thought you expressed that "we are all fascinating beings." Thanks for sharing your writing attitudes and habits which are always encouraging to us.

Bill, you're so kind. I'll drop by when I can next year.

Good Morning Bill, and hopefully the "God of Washington..No see the sun for 30 days" gives you some reprieve this Winter -- I lived there, on and off, for 16 years!

This excerpt: "Who am I to be writing a memoir? I’m one of seven-point-five billion. I’m nobody in the grand scheme of things."...lays it ALL out there; as bare as that moment I first hit the blanket, screaming for the return to Momma's womb.

I started my own several years ago at the insistence of my 97 year old(3rd favorite) aunt.

Aunt Lucille had been bugging me relentlessly for some 2 or 3 years; to give her a synopsis of what my life had amounted to. Only after her "terminal illness" diagnosis became very difficult for me to accept, did I start and eventually complete for her enjoyment; an approximately 32% finalized -- suitable for "big screen" adaptation -- memoir.

I simply ran into that "roadblock" of your descriptive analysis, and I stopped. Laziness has played a large part in the decision, but perhaps more than anything else...the insignificance of little ole me in that "big scheme of things" and getting past the hard parts..has let the air out of the tires on my "little red writing" VW Bug!

Morning Bill, Good to read the mailbag again. Congratulations on the progress with your memoir! Sorry I've been AWOL. It happens, sometimes. I like the photo of your desk, new perspective revealing it is actually in the kitchen, that's handy. Do you allow yourself snacks while you write? Just teasing. Have a good day Bill.

Bill, this was a better-than-usual mailbag. You always do an amazing job with the questions you get, but the questions this week were really, really thoughtful.

Sign me up for a copy of your memoir. I'm not sure I could even cobble together enough memories of my childhood to complete a 2-page essay. I'm always amazed at people who recall vivid details of when they were in grade school, etc.

Thank you for clarifying the difference between editing and proofreading.

As for two writers creating the same or similar stories--I can't recall the details (is this a theme with me?) but I'm certain I've heard of sculptures from ancient times in the Middle East being identical to artwork created at the same time in Central America.

My love to you and your family.

Hi Bill. I'm stopping by to visit since it's been a long time I've stopped by here. Good luck with your edits for your memoir. Great hub. I have a similar writing schedule as you--write in the morning, edit in the afternoon, including weekends and holidays. I hope to be more active in HP this winter and get back to revising/writing new hubs in the new year.

Great questions this week. I too was wondering how proofreading differed from editing. That is now a little clearer.

I loved DreamOn’s question about whether two writers miles apart could be on the same wavelength and write the same or similar thing simultaneously? I have actually published more than one hub only to notice someone else I know write very similar ones on the same subject at the same time.

I am glad your memoir is almost ready to publish, and Eric should write his as well. Truth is often stranger than fiction.