I’ve decided that there are writers and then there are storytellers. Storytellers can spin a good yarn, as they say. But when it comes to writing, some of them have trouble penning a piece that their audience can follow. Many of them seem to have trouble grasping the concepts related to good, clear and concise writing.
I find that I can demonstrate and attempt to teach storytelling authors the difference between a muddy and a clear sentence, for example, while editing for them, and they continue to write muddy (complicated, awkward, run-on) sentences. I can point out the rules of good writing to my clients, and they still stick to their old writing habits. I can explain why something doesn’t work in their story or the dangers of inconsistencies in a story and they persist in using their same old approach.
Writers, on the other hand, tend to apply the techniques and rules I (as their editor) share with them. Someone with writing skills and a love for the process of writing is eager to learn more about it. They want to know how to improve their story or their nonfiction manuscript. A storyteller, who is more comfortable with how the words appear in their heads than on paper (or on the computer screen), aren’t as open to grasping the concept of readability. Some storyteller types expect the reader to imagine the story as they do. They don’t understand that, once the story is reduced to words on a page—without benefit of gestures and facial expressions—it must be presented in a form that makes sense to the reader. And the written word is a very different animal than the spoken (or imagined) word.
I’m sure that most of you (in particular, other book editors) have seen manuscripts/completed books that didn’t quite sell the story. As a reader, you sometimes got lost, were turned off by inconsistencies, couldn’t decipher some of the points or follow some of the scenarios. It’s a shame when an author, without excellent writing skill, ruins a perfectly good story.
Folks, whether you are a writer at heart or you simply have a story to tell. Please turn your manuscript over to a qualified book editor before you present it to your readers.