Editors and their Writers; Writers and their Stories
The longer I work with writers, the more I am beginning to understand the relationship between a writer an editor--the clearer I understand my role as both a writer and an editor, two often conflicting roles, yet this is the kind of conflict every writer should experience. Let me attempt to explain. As an editor, I am not trying to destroy your story. Why would I? I do this out of a love for stories: I want to witness the birth of many masterpieces. But I am guided by the empathy for fellow writers' efforts, which then guide me not to simply flatter you, but to make sure your story comes to life. The story, whether we know it yet or not, is why we are here. The time we--writer and editor--must spend on the story may seem wasted, especially when we create chunks of text, only to destroy them in another editing cycle; the time we spend is an investment, to build something about which we will be confident and happy thirty years from now. I see the story not for what it is today, but f...