Last Updated: August 18, 2000
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Good writing
Try taking a walk in your writers’ shoes
By Kevin McGrath
Here’s a tonic for all you editors beset by the constant demands of
meetings, phone calls, staffing, copy editing, zoning and the dozen other
daily concerns that constantly tug you farther from your original passion
for the craft.
Do some writing.
No, I haven’t gone goofy. I don’t have any more time each day to indulge
the writer in me than you do. But after publishing my first byline in many
a month, I find myself practically floating a quarter-inch off the ground
with a renewed sense of creativity and accomplishment. The experience was
fraught with insecurity and self-doubt, but also with wonder and discovery.
After so much time spent writing about writing, it was a real hoot to bust
loose and do some. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
Editors are allowed to have fun, aren’t they?
Sure they are. But there’s a lot more in store than fun for editors
who write. Perhaps the most valuable lesson it provides is that it reminds
you what your staff goes through every day on the job. It makes you a better
editor by building empathy for writers on your staff in these important
areas:
-
The terror of the blank screen. There’s no substitute for facing the blood-chilling
reality that you have to fill the void with words that create meaning.
It’s at the heart of the writing experience. Though your writers often
make it look easy, facing the blank screen reminds you how hard the work
is that they do each day.
-
The insecurity of forming good ideas. Writing is hard enough; thinking
is harder. A good story requires a well thought-out idea. Editors who write
face the double pressure of delivering on a good idea in the eyes of their
staff. You don’t want to look foolish in front of such a tough crowd.
But that doesn’t mean you have to produce the killer investigative story,
either. You should be secure enough in your abilities to follow your wonder
and whimsy where they lead. And it need not be a news story. It can be
a personal essay. Just find the itch that needs to be scratched.
My story was a profile of a rather large gent who does crazy car commercials
in our area. After seeing a few of them I found myself wondering: What
makes this guy so goofy? So I wrote a story to find the answer.
-
The thrill of discovery. Amid the insecurity that writing brings, there’s
the wonder of watching the story unfold as you report. My central question
led me to Johnny Ross, an Oklahoman who uses his size, wit and a few gimmicks
— bugged-out eyes, high-volume delivery and a rotating right forearm —
to grab and hold viewers’ attention for 30 seconds. He’s doing what he
does best — crazy commercials — in six states and having more fun than
one person deserves. But I never would have known all that if I hadn’t
asked that question and sought the answer.
-
The insecurity of editing. Want to know how your staff feels doing its
work each day? This will show you like few other things (though higher-ranking
editors may need to make clear they want no special treatment at this stage).
This is when you get to find out what it’s like to take your delicate,
lovely creation and hand it off to a bunch of folks who suddenly look for
all the world like gorillas. Now is when you wonder: Is my work good enough
for them? Will they honor my words or change them behind my back? Will
that wonderful phrase I turned survive to see print?
Now is also when you learn about your newsroom’s culture. If you’ve fostered
a culture in which craft and collaboration are valued, then you’re likely
to hear from that line editor or copy editor about confusing phrases or
the questions they perceive going unanswered, and you’ll be asked
to help create a solution. But if you’ve fostered a culture that values
only copy production and making deadlines, you’re likely to endure secret
editing or last-minute cuts to fit a hole. But don’t worry: You’ll see
the changes when the paper comes out.
For example, two phrases were trimmed from my story at the last minute
so the entire opening would fit before the jump. The task was done by a
skilled copy desk that preserved my work’s integrity; perhaps it even read
a tad better. But I still found myself wishing I had known about it when
it happened.
That may be the single most important reason for editors to write: They
get to walk in their writers’ shoes from start to finish. They get to experience
all the insecurity, terror, wonder and reward that reporters see each day.
So what are you waiting for? We’re all too busy. Start saving string,
building your story a piece at a time, as I did over three months. Start
demonstrating what’s possible at your paper instead of worrying about what
is or isn’t. The writers will listen.
Start having fun. You may find yourself starting a trend.
McGrath is communities team leader and writing coach at The Wichita
(Kan.) Eagle. He can be reached at kmcgrath@wichitaeagle.com
