About Gut Punches
Post 574:
After a much needed break, I recently got back a manuscript from my madly-skilled editor. Everything I’ve ever written has been favorably received over the years, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t massive amounts of changes and corrections.
That’s writing. There’s always more to do.
Some are just stupid mistakes that he had to point out. Typos and misuses of grammar, anachronisms. Other stuff comes down to judgment. He asks tough questions of my writing and my characters—would they do this/that or is there another way?
Initially, this is a real gut punch.
It isn’t so much about pride, but there’s still some of that I’m sure. Mostly, it’s just hard to see something you really invested in splayed out like a dissected corpse.
Gross. Sorry.
Take your time. Have a good cry. Break something. Tell yourself you’re better than you actually are. Then put a clothespin on your nose and get back in the autopsy room. There’s work to be done.
Version 2.0 will be better, but it means brutal honesty. If there are things your editor disagrees with you on, make sure you’re of one mind in the end. Don’t acquiesce too easy, and don’t discard something because you just love it. Ultimately, the hill you decide to defend will make or break your work.
That’s all it is. Decisions. After it’s cleaned up, polished, refined, rechecked, and polished again.
Then. Then it’s just decisions.
And don’t worry. If you’re lucky, you get to go through this horrifying process over and over again for the rest of your life, one punch to the gut after another.
It’s not so bad. Some people fight for a living. They literally get punched in the gut over and again. I get it. Your pride hurts. Mine is suffering a little right now, to be honest. But a little wounded pride and some sore typing fingers don’t make me a coal miner.
Perspective and all that. Spirits up. Head up. It’s a mantra thing.
Cheers and see you after.
