A Little Spit 'n Polish

In 1963, Ian Fleming gave an interview about the craft of writing. His advice was pretty clear. He followed a set schedule every day, in those hours he wrote 2,000 words, he never looked back at what he’d written, and in six weeks he had finished a book. After a rather brief revision and publishing process, it was then time for the next James Bond story.

Dame Agatha Christie is on record saying something similar, although she places far more emphasis on the planning phase. “The real work is in thinking out the development of your story and worrying about it until it comes right,” she explained in an interview. “That may take quite a while. Then, when you've got all your material together, as it were, all that remains is trying to find time to write the thing. Three months seems quite a reasonable time to complete a book if one can get right down to it.”

If we only focus on the letter points from both these authors, then, writing seems very straightforward. It’s an idea followed by planning and writing, and then the book is done. Yet, strangely, both authors gloss over what I consider the most important element of writing. Namely, that of editing.

Sure, in a quiet space and with no distractions anyone could write away and bang out a chapter a day, and doing so, one could theoretically finish a book in a couple of weeks. The problem there is, of course, that any book written so quickly would undoubtedly be slop — even with good planning.

I have no doubt that both these authors did plan their stories meticulously before diving in to writing, but I still find it odd that they place so little emphasis on editing. The fact is that I also plan very thoroughly before writing. I create a small outline for the story, then an expanded outline. I then plan chapters out individually, noting who is in the scene, their goals, what the chapter goal itself is. I have spreadsheets and notes for every kind of detail, even images and music to help fasten things in mind. But I also tend to read over what I've read every single day, and in this time inevitably find a boatload of things to modify or delete. It’s incredibly time-consuming and I can easily spend a week on one chapter.

I once (in)famously stated in a YouTube video that, “[creative endeavours] are 10% creation, 99% modification,” and faulty as my math was, I still stick by the point. I reckon that editing and rewriting make up the bulk of my writing process, and really wonder how these authors-of-old handled it.

The simple truth could be that I don’t possess the mental acuity they did, and that their drafts were so perfect that editing was barely necessary. Or that they had editors who went to town and polished the book up without author intervention.

Either way, though I hear woeful tales of authors reaching the dreaded ‘editing phase’, I actually love it. Reading over and altering my work is great fun and has so many benefits, from solidifying the plot and minutiae in my mind to helping me consider what I’ve written more thoroughly. It allows me to plant links and connections which I can use in the future, and which I otherwise wouldn't have planted without careful inspection.

Plus, it results in a polished, shiny-ass story. And who doesn’t like one of those?