This may not be an original idea but there are times when it is a highly attractive one. Allow me to elaborate...
When a writer edits their work they take out the unnecessary bits, the boring bits and the bits that don’t work. ‘Oh yes!’ I can hear you all saying. ‘I could do with removing a few of those!’
Events can be moved around so that the characters and the reader can make more sense of them. A writer can even go back to events near the beginning, make improvements and then weave those changes into the rest of the story. How many times have we wished we could do that with our lives?
During the editing process a writer will work and rework speech until the words say exactly what the character needs them to say. I’m the sort of person who opens my mouth, thinks about it afterwards and then regrets it for weeks and sometimes years.
By far the most attractive aspect of the editing pen is its ability to allow characters to ‘live happily ever after’... Oh well, back to reality.
