The Challenges in an Author’s Life
by Anu Lal
Editing is perhaps the most challenging of all activities in the life of an author. Once the author realises that the story is complete, she is ready to set up a scaffold of indifference towards whatever comes up in the manuscript. Although one, has assuredly enough written the draft, it is out of one’s control to face the words and lines that come up in the reading process.
The reading process endows its inbuilt challenges upon the author. The act of reading what one has written is often a process full of wonders- wondering who wrote these lines or, wondering when I wrote this crap.
Those authors who are experienced in their craft know that only a scaffold of indifference can help us. First, they stand upon this scaffold and then observe the writing with a degree of distance and with an ample dose of indifference. Whatever comes up in this manuscript, I don’t bother appreciating or criticising the author of this stuff.
This indifference can be identified with that earlier form of abstinence or ascetic zeal that we often read about in mythologies.
The first step in an editing process is reading the manuscript, which is always a process, filled with wonders, let me repeat.
If you are wondering why I am, suddenly coming back to one of the oldest questions that my blog dealt with in the past, the answer is that I am editing the new anthology that I am publishing.
The title of the said anthology is not revealed yet. It will be soon.
So what do you think is the second stage in the editing process? Do let me know in the comments below.
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Indeed, editing is a big challenge, and I have experienced it everytime I write my books. A humble observation, and not my opinion - Like it is so well said in these two quotes, and may I quote - "A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.". To elaborate on this also consider the words of poet James Russell Lowell, "Truth -- forever on the scaffold, Wrong -- forever on the throne." - in summation of the what they together mean is what is so well narrated in these words by By Maj. Dan Akeredolu, 60th Force Support Squadron who says that "there are times when we may be tempted to question ourselves regarding our principles or methods for promoting them. There are others, even friends, who might add to our self-doubts with their own. Fortunately, we can learn from historical examples of those who successfully stood firm to their principles even in the midst of tremendous doubt. It is like an OBE- Out of Body Experience. You have to be taking on an "empathetic" role and a critical one at that to be able to edit your own works.
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