Re: OT: Books on writing?

[Harry Binswanger hb@xxxxxxxx]

Patricia wrote:
> Harry Binswanger wrote:
> > which last also stresses the idea you mention: don't edit while you are
> > drafting; she says, "keep your pencil moving."
> Well, I beg to differ, but recall that I'm an editor first and a writer
> second. But I don't think you can ever LET your critical faculty lapse. It
> will do so enough on its own.
It depends on the person. I way over-edit as I write. It results in a fear
of drafting anything (anything for publication, that is). My wife, OTOH,
cheerfully bats stuff out for hours on end, thinking its wonderful, when in
sad fact it should have been given more critical thought while drafting, in
my opinion.
But Ayn Rand argues in the book at some length that the best way (for
everyone) is reserve critical, top-down thought for the outlining and
editing stages (and she was a super-meticulous editor--I was edited by her
a couple of times).
I totally agree with you that knowledge of the subject is the number one
thing. And you have to have way more knowledge, even on the specific topic,
than what you include in your piece. That's a lesson hard for me to learn;
in essays, I want to say everything I know on a given topic.
> I cite an interesting example: Dorothy L. Sayers was a (at one time)
> well-known author of who-done-its (the Lord Peter Wimsey stories), plays,
> translations (Dante's Divine Comedy, the Chanson de Roland), and essays
> literary and doctrinal. In a couple of the Lord Peter stories, she depicts
> a writer writing. And the writer character is always editing as she
> writes. FWIW.
Well, AR recommends making changes that occur to while writing, but not
doing anything that will interrupt the flow. As I say, that goes against my
grain, but I'm probably living proof of the difficulty that comes from
doing otherwise. Incidentally, I recall that AR liked Dorothy Sayers'
mysteries, and recommended an interesting piece Sayers wrote about the
difference between mystery writing and horror stories.
> --
> Patricia M. Godfrey
> PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx


Harry Binswanger
hb@xxxxxxxx