Certain qualities differentiate amateur writers from professional ones. For example, amateurs sometimes have little regard for criticism. They’re happy with the way their work is, not with the way it could be. Professionals are different. They’re in pursuit of what’s better, and “better” often necessitates criticism’s thrashing.
A larger difference, however, may be the attitude taken toward editing. Amateurs don’t always spend a lot of time on editing and revision. They write their piece and continue onward.
Professionals do the same, but they always return to the work. They give the piece and themselves a little room to breathe, a little distance, before they come back to the work with an editor’s eye.
The results speak for themselves. The amateurs’ writing is forgettable. It may rest upon cliches or standard descriptions.
The professionals’ is memorable for precisely the opposite reason. They refuse cliches and triteness. Professionals are after the right word and the right image, so they examine their work again and again. If a cliche is used, it’s used in conjunction with a knowing nod to the reader.
The professionals always maintain control over the writing. They may let the words flow unchecked initially, but they return with their whip. They make sure the words are where they’re supposed to be and are going where they’re supposed to go, and that means they do the hard thing: they edit.
Image: Nic McPhee (Creative Commons)
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