An Act of Discovery

A few weeks ago I hosted another writing workshop for people who want to publish children's books.

I always enjoy these workshops. Each participant comes with a different idea and a respect for children and the books they read. Some want to write for the educational market. Some want to write humor. Some want to write a best seller. Some want to explore writing and find out if they have "what it takes." But they all want to write something important.

On day one I offer an explanation of how writing is all about discovery. Authors start with an idea, refine it, write it and then through many, many revisions, they discover what it was they set out to write. Polite as they are, the workshop attendees smile and nod, then look down at their notebooks.

I persevere. I comment on how much they will learn to love revision. Again, they smile. They nod and wait for me to say something of great value.
But I did.

After everyone pushes out a few pages of text, we gather. Some people read what they've written. If they only want celebrations, that's what they receive. If they want gentle nudges, I ask questions. I try to help the writer find what he/she intended to say.

I wish I could say that this comes naturally. Not for me, it doesn't. It's always much easier to "tell" a writer how he might change what he's written.
But would that help the writer? Not really.

I learned how to question from editors. They're great at this. I always envisioned that this is an art form handed down from one senior or executive editor to the new assistant editor. It's gentle. Respectful. Highly effective.

I'm not as good at it as my editors, but I keep refining the skill. Asking good questions is essential. It's also a strategy that writers soon learn to use on themselves. Writing occurs when a person asks questions - about character, motive, or plot - and answers them, actually answers them again and again and selects one of the best answers to move the writing forward. If an editor, or a teacher, only makes suggestions or tells the writer what to revise, then the author never moves deeper into craft.

It takes time to ask questions. It also takes practice. That's where revision comes into play. Revision is all about discovery. Sometimes it begins with improving the ending of a piece. Then, a writer has to ask, Is there a connection between the beginning and the ending? Or what if a writer asks, Does my character show growth by the end of the story? If not, that means you have to ask another question, "Is there enough at stake? Did I give my character enough of a challenge for growth? One question and revision leads to another and another and before long you're looking at the writing with all new eyes. (The meaning of the word revision.) The writing starts to transform. As you revise, you go deeper into what you wanted to say. In fact, you discover the true purpose of your writing.

This is the most exhilarating part of writing. Of course, it's always fun to have that initial idea that sets a writer in motion. It's raw energy and it's exciting. But somewhere deep in revision a writer will have not one, but quite a few ah-ha's. And then the writer knows she's onto something good.

This past week I received an email from one of the recent workshop attendees. She had worked hard on her picture book, revising it over and over again. I could hear her excitement in every word she wrote. She knew she was onto something good, maybe even great. She had discovered the POV she wanted to use, the character's voice, the true story.

I wish that for all of us who write. May we all take the time to ask hard questions. May we revise over and over again until we know what it is we truly want to say. May we discover who we are as writers.