Regina Spektor and Me

"You don't have no doctor Robert
You don't have no uncle Albert
You don't even have good credit
You can write but you can't edit
Edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit... " - Regina Spektor, "Edit"

Actually, in my case it depends on the day. Sometimes I think I'm a better re-writer than a writer, happily able to pull apart and reassemble previous work, but not able to come up with an original paragraph given a blank screen. Other days, maybe after pulling out my copy of Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse, I can start lots of stories. Even end a few, too. Of course, the stories are filled with tired phrases, nonsensical characters, flat descriptions, and unnatural dialogue all badly in need of editing, but hey, at least it's new unnatural dialogue and flat descriptions.

The problem is, in this biz you have to be able to do both.

The solution is, you don't have to do them both at the same time.

Banging your head against the wall staring at a blank piece of paper? Your freewriting document look this?

I'm freewriting now, i'm writing whatever comes to my mind, i'm wondering how much time is left on the timer and if the Super-G is on television, and I don't even know what the Super G is but it's got to be better than sitting here typing this.

Well then, it's time to give up. No, not give up on writing altogether (and don't tell me you haven't thought of it). Give up on the new stuff, call up the last manuscript you've workshopped but haven't revised, and have at it.

You may find that re-working is working today. And when you can't edit, and you aren't looking forward to revising the same seven pages for the seventieth time, maybe it's time to try something brand new. Write a six-sentence story. Write about the creepy guy who was staring at you in the gym. Even, shudder, write a poem. Anything new.

Of course, you may have a specific deliverable that's butting up against a deadline, and only editing or new production will do. But that's a question for another day, and at least it's one that means you've got a writing assignment.

I've been editing like a demon this week (an ink-stained, dictionary-thumbing demon), but even though I now have a couple of recent pieces just about ready to send out, I was getting tired of revisions today. So you're reading something new that I wrote.

Today, I can write. But I can't edit. Edit, edit, edit, edit, edit...