Cooking and jazz, writing and editing

by Dana

“Iconoclasts” on Sundance Channel is one of my current TV favorites. If you haven’t seen it, the format is two people, groundbreaking in their respective industries, carrying on a discussion about their work. What I particularly like about it is that often they are both from a creative profession— writing, cooking, music, acting. Hearing two people who know what they’re doing talk about the creative process is just about my favorite kind of entertainment.  

The episode that caught my eye recently was “Wynton Marsalis + John Besh.” Both grew up in
Louisiana; Besh is a chef, Marsalis, a jazz musician and educator. There was one interchange between them that knocked my socks off. It had to do with creating art that was accessible, and to which people could respond. I’m paraphrasing here, but Marsalis said something like “If I’m too good to play for people, I’ll stay at home.” And Besh agreed, saying that when people come into his place--his house or his restaurant— he’s in charge of their happiness for a few hours. The upshot of the conversation was that both men believed that to serve is to be served, and that unless people were getting something from what they were presenting, it wasn’t worth doing. 

I love that notion being applied to art. One of the reasons it struck such a chord with me was the question that almost inevitably comes up when someone discovers I’m a writer. It runs along the lines of “How can you bear to let anyone edit your work? It’s your art, why would you let someone interfere with that?”  

I run through the usual replies “It’s still my creation. Editing is not interference, it’s a discussion and negotiation. It’s an opportunity to get another take on the writing. It makes my work stronger.”

This is almost always met with some variation of “But why would you let an audience direct your work? Why not bring audience to you, instead of the other way around?” 

Because what I do is communication. Communication requires a meeting of the minds, what the writer preents and what the reader brings. If a scene speaks to me, and no one else, it doesn’t matter how well it’s written: it’s not working. If what I’m doing is creating a place for someone else to withdraw to, and I break that mood, I’m not successful. I find the editorial process invaluable because of the perspective it brings: sometimes a twitch or a tweak of a line can have a profound effect on the way a character is perceived by another reader. Because I’m responsible for the reader’s happiness (well, if not happiness, then satisfactory involvement in my fictional world) for a couple of hours.  

Sure, I want to challenge a reader with new ideas or a new way of approaching them. But I have to establish a place the reader wants to spend time, and then situate those challenges in a way that he or she will feel comfortable going (especially when the destination is scary or getting there will be uncomfortable). It’s about trust. I could be besotted by my own writing, but I don’t get anything out of that if no one comes to my place.

Comments

[Charlaine Harris]

Dana, this is so true. I think writers who refuse to let an editor work on their manuscript are making a huge mistake. No matter how famous, celebrated, and experienced you are, nothing you do is so perfect it can't be made better by a fresh eye and a frank discussion.

Charlaine

[Toni L.P. Kelner]

I met Richard Marek, an editor who worked with Robert Ludlum and James Herriott and Thomas Harris. He himself wrote a novel. And he remains adamant that editing is not the same as writing--they are two different skills.

Yeah, I can edit my own stuff to a certain point, but not like a real editor.

Good editors are worth weight in gold!

Toni

[Toni L.P. Kelner]

And if I'd had an editor, I might have written...

Good editors are worth their weight in gold!

[jenny]

well, an editor gives your work better look, he can look at it from the outside, completely objective.but i think that as an artist(excepting writing) u feel a bit violated if somebody comes and does smth to ur work.

[Toni]

Editors generally don't just come in and mess with your work. You get to see a final version once changes are made, and approve them or take them out again.

[danacmrn]

Oh, yes, it's always a process of negotiation and the writer generally has the last word. So to speak.

My point was the perspective an editor gives you can help you reach audiences in ways you might not have seen on your own.