As a writer, editing’s our best friend when it comes to improving our work. Even greater insight can be gained when those edits come through another pair of eyes. But that doesn’t mean it’s a comfortable process.
Recently I completed a stint of manuscript edits. Partway through this process I was reflecting on the disruptive nature of a major edit. I could certainly see the benefits and was grateful to be reworking pre-publication, rather than lamenting post-publication. Yet, it would have been much less effort to leave the work in its original condition.
I liken a story to a spider’s web. The longer the work, the bigger and more intricately woven the web. Through the editing and revision process, weaknesses or inconsistencies may become apparent in the plot or story development, requiring a part of the web to be unspun and rebuilt. But you can just imagine what happens when you start pulling on one of those threads …
The entire web comes with it!
Life can be much like this. We might become aware of weaknesses or inconsistencies in our character or the way we live. Perhaps a gentle observation has come through another pair of eyes, making us feel vulnerable – exposed.
So what do we do?
It would be easier to pretend all is well and protect our vulnerabilities. I mean, it’s a given that by pulling on one thread the rest of the web’s going to take extra strain in the process or tear. In fact, that whole process sounds painful and inconvenient!
Awareness of such flaws can challenge us to confront the usual, even comfortable, patterns with which we do life. Relationships; habits; attitudes; behaviours. So many areas can be intricately interwoven.
But by choosing to become vulnerable and risk web deconstruction, we enable ourselves to examine the deeper issues underlying such vulnerabilities. Through this we can gradually build a stronger ‘life web’ for a more positive way of living.
Hi Adele – That’s an interesting analogy between editing and life entanglements, especially when it’s another person who puts their finger on a problem. I know it’s easy to feel defensive or resistant at first, but then you realise, “Oh darn. They’re right.” It’s certainly a lot of work to do a major rewrite, but it reads much better in the end. Relationships can be a little trickier because if you start tweaking areas of your own life that need addressing, it can also impact on others in a way that makes it necessary for them to change (e.g., if it’s a boundary issue in a relationship). But even though those adjustments may be difficult to start with, it’s much better in the end. Lucky there’s nothing in my life that needs changing 😉 (Oops – my halo just slipped). Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yes, our life web certainly runs across every area. At times it can be hard to not get defensive when others start pulling on our web threads. But as you say, the long-term benefits are the positive outcomes from choosing to explore the core, even difficult, issues underlying life decisions and actions. Not easy though. But there’s always a reason for the way we act/think, even if we’re unaware until some caring soul points it out. Oh, and watch out for those slipping halos. They can really pinch (not that I’d know … 😉 ).