A few months ago I started working on a memoir. It is focused on my relationship with my transgender daughter. I completed a few pieces, she read them and gave me her blessing to continue. Since then I have been writing everyday - three handwritten pages.
Recently, as I looked at the compiled pages, I started to feel overwhelmed. Clearly, transcribing and editing all those pages would be time-consuming and difficult. A writer friend suggested that I focus first on transferring the material from the page to the computer. She suggested that I avoid any major edits or rewrites until I am finished with the entire memoir.
I sat down at the computer yesterday with every intention of following her advice. I read the first line. It just wasn't right. I tweaked a few words to improve the flow. By the middle of the first paragraph, I began to find holes in the narrative. Surely it wouldn't hurt to fill in the blanks. By the end of the second paragraph I was rearranging words, adding clarifying statements and sharpening descriptions. I was in full editor mode.
I rationalized my behavior. The transcript was totally unacceptable in its original form. Transcribing it without major edits was like moving a box of junk from an old residence to a new one. Yes, we've all done it, but its inefficient, illogical. Doesn't it make more sense to sort through the box and throw out the garbage before you move?
Then I realized the problem with my logic. When I read what I have written I can't tell the jewels from the junk. I am too attached. I was beginning to see the wisdom of my friend's advice. I need to leave my writing as it is until I have time to separate from it. Once I am a little more detached I can sort through the words and make rational decisions about which which ones stay and which ones go.
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