Laura's Response to Newman

Redrafting and Editing
by Jenny Newman

In this article, Jenny Newman talks about how the first draft of any writing should be where you draw inspiration. It should be where you go out on a limb, understand a new feeling, try a new voice, and not to worry about yourself too much. She says the second draft should be where you need to be a critic of what you wrote. It is important to re-read your paper. She states that there are several steps in the process of revision. She makes the distinction between redraft and edit. Redraft means that it is a revision that is more comprehensive and thorough and usually occurs at the beginning stages of the revision process. It may entail starting completely over. Editing is the type of revision where close attention is made to the detail of the work when it is nearly complete. Jenny points if you can answer in one sentence what your story is about then to use that sentence as a window when editing the whole piece of writing. Everything in the written piece should serve a purpose. For example in a novel, there should be a clear heroine with a detailed history, antagonist, and supporting characters that each hold significance within the story. She also advises using stereotypes. People find them boring. She also advises to strike a balance between dialogue and action. Another tip she gives is to list the main plot points to see if they are organized to build. Adding a clock to the story also adds tension. She also points out that breaks are needed amidst the tension and this can be accomplished by adding description or retrospect. She also advises that you ask yourself if anything has changed for the protagonist at the end of the story. She notes that few writers in any medium find that good style happens by accident. It often takes many revisions to find that final version that you are happy with. She ends the article with a list of mistakes to avoid when writing which include the following:

List of adjectives

Showing off

Predictable noun-adjective combinations

Overuse of adverbs

Redundant words

Fussy punctuation

Meaningless terms

Weak intensifers

Overworked similies

Misattributions


I found this article to be informative on how to write better. I usually do create more than one draft when I write because my first thoughts are usually cloudy and disconnected. But as I reread what I have written, new thoughts and connections can be made which may help in my ability to be clear to my readers. I find her list of mistakes to avoid interesting, because I find myself falling captive to these mistakes. I need to become more aware of when I make one of these mistakes so I can avoid them. I think having this list made visible where I sit to write will help me in the future.