Words in Print!!!

My article was published - woohoo!!!! A heavily edited version of my earlier post- The 2nd Annual Descent of the Urbanites, was just published in a local weekly paper, The North Fork Journal.

There was even a little link to the article on the front page!!!!

I was excited and honored. As I may have mentioned previously, I had to pare the original piece down from 1380 words to 634 !

The editor of the paper shaved it down even further - taking out about 62 more words and re-wording the opening paragraph. It had to be between 500-600 words to fit.

I have to say, she did a great job.

It is obviously much easier to to edit, when you are not personally attached to each and every word that falls out of your head and onto the paper!! How egocentric is that!! LOL

Florence mentioned having lunch with a writer friend, discussing this very issue of editing.  The friend quoted Hemingway, who called editing "murdering your little darlings"! How cool to think I have something in common with Hemingway!!!

While researching this quote,  I discovered a similar phrase has been paraphrased multiple times thru' the ages, and has passed thru' the lips, pens, and typewriters of many different writers.

. It was first attributed to William Faulkner, but then thought to have originated in 1916, from Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch- "murder your darlings"

Apparently, writers all feel the same about their words. Or, I guess, anyone like me, who puts pen to paper (or fingers to computer keyboards!)

Stephen King wrote in his 2000 book On Writing (which I have somewhere around here!)

"....kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.."

                                                                    and

 " It’s always easier to kill someone else’s darlings than it is to kill your own.“ I guess that was why it was easier for the newspaper editor to cut down my words to fit!!!

 Some other truisms I discovered that I can totally relate to:

I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows. — Ernest Hemingway 

When rewriting, move quickly. It's a little like cutting your own hair. — Robert Stone 

I don't know where this is heading, but it all came out of the excitement of having my words published.Woohoo!!!

---

Return of the Urbanites

                                                    My son came back for his annual campout.

                                                 YAY!!!!!!!!!
                           

                                     I was asked to write about it for the wonderful, local, weekly paper.

                                                                               I did.

                                                                           YAY!!!!!!

                                                               VERY excited about that!!!!

It is so very different writing for something specific, than just putting to paper whatever
                  falls
                            out
                                        of
                                                      my
                                                                        head!!!



I would have written a blog post about the event anyway (coming soon), but somehow, this felt different.

After I finally got it all down, and sifted thru photos to put along with the words, and submitted it- come to find out- they forgot to tell me it only had to be between 500-600 words!!!

                           AAAAGGHHH!!!

Microsoft Word tells me my article is 1380 words.......................words just  fly when you're having fun!!!LOL

                                                   So, now, the great edit begins.....................

             Two, or was it three (?), hours later...............the rewrite is complete!!!

It took another hour later that night, for D/H to re-size all the photos - again- because I did my rewrite on a draft, not the final I had submitted (oops), where all the photos were properly sized and placed.....sigh....(we are still learning the ins and outs of Photoshop!)

Trying very hard to cut my thoughts literally in HALF, and not lose the content of the story, I found it is easier said than done!!!!

I told Florence I much prefer proof reading over editing. She much prefers a glass of wine over either!!!!! Funny Florence - I now see your point!!!

I managed to winnow the words down from 1380 to 634.............whew!

Discarding words is like .......killing a thought, a valuable thought! Maybe valuable only to me, but valuable, nonetheless!!!

After this, I know I do need a more comfortable chair for sitting in front of the computer.

What I really need is a new computer, or a laptop, hmmmmmm.

But, I am thrilled to have been asked to tell the story of the urbanites, had great fun hosting another year of campers, and am looking forward to writing more!!!!


Wait..................how many words is this????????????????????????????