Last time around I addressed The Power of Writing Your Story - exploring how stories unfold when we put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and do the work of writing an impactful story. The process becomes a narrative investigation which takes us below a story’s surface. Something that an outline struggles (and fails) to do.
But the first draft is, at best, an approximation of the opus that you want to share with the public. Expressing inner wisdom is rarely a simple matter - it takes time. We’re all familiar with the metaphor of peeling back the onion as a way to reveal a more accurate truth, layer by layer, and this type of self-discovery results in more resonant narratives.
The only kind of writing is rewriting. - Ernest Hemingway
So how do we approach the editing process once our first draft has been completed?
For many of us the backspace key or the pencil eraser is our best friend while writing, which means our first draft has already endured a few rounds of cuts and rewordings, but we’re still just a level or two into the journey. Progress, to be sure, but it’s not the ultimate destination we’re looking for.
I always encourage people to edit while they write, but not to overdue it. It’s far more important to get the narrative scribed with our mind primarily in story mode. Just let the ideas flow - have fun with it - capture as many details and plot points as possible.
If your story is intended to be a written piece, hand it over to someone (skillful editor or trusted friend) to get their feedback. Ask if they can tell you the point of the story? Hint: don’t give them the answer beforehand. Was any aspect of the story confusing, and what about your word choice? If you write for magazines / newspapers, or if you have written a book, you’re very familiar with editing and how many rounds it takes before getting it right. But the end result is worth it - your prose becomes polished.
Stand and Deliver
If you’re preparing to give a speech / talk / presentation, however, it’s time to rehearse. So with draft in hand (printed on paper, or displayed on an electronic device) stand up and read it. Yep. That’s right, stand up when you rehearse. Get used to delivering your story in the same fashion as when you will be doing it for real, in front of an audience.
Although reciting the text properly will be your primary objective, you should also pay attention to how those words and sentences sound. You may be surprised by what you hear. The two most vexing (yet beneficial) issues that often arise as you rehearse are:
1) What you’re saying doesn’t sound quite right. The main reason this happens is that we read differently than we hear. The text will read fine, yet still sounds rather unnatural. Working with clients I often get a puzzled look as they say, “That’s not the way I speak.”
The simple fact is that the vocabulary we use when writing rarely matches the words we select when speaking. Our written words tend to be more complex and may have more syllables. They’re easy to read, as we simply slow down if the going gets tough (think intellectual speed bump), but when we hear such words in sentences they are not only more difficult to understand, they can come off as high brow, verbose, and worse, sometimes condescending. No one wants to sound like that.
So back to editing. What would you normally say? Which words would sound simpler, more direct, easier to understand? Consider your own style of speaking, make your edits, and rehearse again. Rinse and repeat until your delivery sounds just like you.
Examine every word, phrase, and sentence. Did you say beautiful, but on reflection gorgeous was more appropriate? Since thinking outside the box is such a tired cliché (damn, even the words tired cliché are cliché) can you craft a more original phrase?
2) What you’re saying doesn’t go deep enough. Some topics are meant to be brief, as a direct statement lacking any exploration. They’re part of the narrative transport, taking us from one plot point to the next. But at times, a topic that was a minor thought in your initial draft reveals itself to be one worth exploring further.
For example, if your story includes the arduous journey of earning a Ph.D., then becoming famous as a research scientist, you might include a line such as:
I really loved my grandmother. She was such a positive influence throughout my life. Her support at every turn was the reason I made it through eight challenging years of college.
It’s clear that you love and appreciate your grandmother, but we don’t know what actually happened. The phrase “support at every turn” indicates there were various incidents of influence, while “eight challenging years” speaks to the idea that your odyssey within higher education contained many examples of endured hardship.
By utilizing story blocks while writing you can capture the individual stories from childhood (it was your grandmother who made you do your homework every night) along with those from your college days (she always sent you checks to cover next semester’s tuition before you had a chance to ask) that we’re so curious to hear.
Based on the importance of this one section and the total length of time allotted to your speech, select which story blocks to include and how much detail to provide, always thinking of the audience and how you want them to remember your story.
As you might guess I could go on and on when it comes to editing, but just like the editing process itself, which has to end at some point else you’ll be editing forever, now is the time to end this newsletter and let you get back to writing your story.
I hope that you enjoyed this post. If so, please share your wisdom and insights below. And don’t forget to subscribe. You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter, or even drop me a line with any thoughts or questions you may have about your storytelling.