JK: Rue

Today I spent some time writing an email to a new writer asking for an endorsement for a first novel. I shouldn’t agree to do this. It takes time. I’m always on my own deadline. But I did. And I had to write to say I couldn’t endorse the book. The writer has good talent in my opinion. A great grasp of description, a worthy premise for the novel. But I found myself skipping the descriptions to find out what happened to the characters. It was an eye opener for me because I find myself having to cut ruthlessly the very things I saw in this book. If I didn’t cut it, my editors would. Nothing that doesn’t support the three questions of the story can be there and that’s painful at times.

It did remind me that I was fortunate to have fine editors who in the very beginning wrote things in the margin of my manuscript like “Let’s hurry along here” when my characters mused a bit too much or when I got lost in the valley of beautiful words. Another editor wrote “RUE” which comes from the Browne and King book Self-editing for Fiction Writers. It means “resist the urge to explain.” Ah yes. So that’s also a part of this revision process, and having the chance to read someone else’s work that I thought might benefit from RUE gave me pause. I’ve been fortunate. My editors, I think, have been good ones. They actually edit. I’m grateful, even if it does mean that the letters for “delete” have been worn off my keyboard.

Jane Kirkpatrick
www.Janekirkpatrick.blogspot.com. Join her there or on her website www.jkbooks.com or at www.faithfulreader.com.