Pop Quiz: What do you do??

Pop Quiz: Your editor sends your 550-word piece back to you. It's now 410 words, and in your view, considerably "mangled." Instead of being better for the edit, it has new rough edges that weren't there before. What do you do?

Shaving off word count is not something writers always get to be the ones to do. If there are true rough spots, I point them out. "It appears to need a comma HERE" and "It looks like the 'and' that got edited out may need to stay in." I have done this a couple times because busy editors doing the trimming may themselves leave "rough spots."

However, if it's something fairly arbitrary or just based on your preference (say you like the word 'huge' better than the word 'large') get over it -- it's the editor's discretion, and they're writing for their ears, not yours.

With a little luck, you will learn to write with that editor's ear in mind and have a long and fruitful relationship. To get there, calling into question their general judgment won't help. I wrote for a nursing publication, and regretted what had to be done to my copy to make it conform to their style. C'est la vie. They were fabulous otherwise. This has happened a couple times -- welcome to ze big leagues.

If you withdraw an edited piece prior to publication, it should be because it's really horrible and will completely embarrass you as a writer.

As another writer pointed out recently, once you've done enough work (for this publication and others) you won't mind the loss of the clip and can leave it out of your portfolio if it really sticks in your craw.

What's your writing process?

Recently, a fellow writer experienced a minor case of writer's block asked some other writers about their non-fiction writing process.

This is something I have honed to a fine art (for me!) and I'm happy to share mine with other writers.

I have a friend who frequently struggles with writer's block. She was taught that her story starts with a strong lead -- and all writing flows from that. I couldn't disagree more!

I never do the lead first. I don't know what it will be until I've gotten the research analyzed, which happens as I go through my notes.

First, I type in my byline! No idea why, habit, but it reassures me each time. Perhaps I feel like I'm planting my flag -- staking out the territory -- declaring my intention to do a story that lives up to my own standards.

Or maybe it's just a habit.

Then, I take all my research and I get it "in shape." I type it in, weeding out stuff that's not germane; as I type it in (or retype), I make sure each chunk is print-ready. In paragraphs, no typos, quotes attributed. In fact, if I'm doing whole interviews (if the article has more than one interviewed, especially) I do it like this:

"First, I take all my research and I get it in shape," Schmoe said.
"I type it in, weeding out stuff that's not germane; as I type it in (or retype), I make sure each chunk is print-ready. In paragraphs, no typos, quotes attributed," Schmoe said.
"In fact, if I'm doing whole interviews (if the article has more than one interviewed, especially) I do it like this," Schmoe said.

Once I have the notes typed in, I save a new copy. This way, I don't accidentally eliminate something from a previous incarnation of the story. I put all the copies in the same folder, and label them in order, usually with an abbreviation of the client publication name, the main subject name, and the number of the copy, like this: TIME Schmoe 3.

Sometimes to differentiate speakers in one document, I will highlight the copy from different sources at this stage. Later, the extra names and highlighting comes off.

After this, I cut and paste the research -- facts and quotes etc. and group related research together in clumps. The shortcuts for this in Word are Control+X for cut, Control+C for copy, Control+V for paste. Again, I save a copy and work from that.

Then, I order the clumps -- first, next, last, etc. -- via cut and paste.

By this time, I have a stronger idea of the precise lead, and I develop that.

Then I go through all of it, smooth the transitions, look for stuff that needs weeded out, holes.
If I have questions that need answered, I write them at the top, above my byline, a reminder to do them.

Throughout the process, I frequently read things aloud. This helps catch things that LOOK okay but aren't.

I double-check my own facts and names, making sure I have titles and companies correct. If numbers are iffy, I make sure they're accurate.

This is how I get to a polished story that's ready to print. Or to be edited.

I'd love feedback about YOUR writing process.

To see how other writers write, check out this forum on Mediabistro.com:

http://mediabistro.com/bbs/cache/t38115_1.asp