AspenHouse

S46E4 – Editing for a Short Story Contest

Many writers are paralyzed by the thought that they are competing with everybody else who is trying to write and presumably doing it better…. Forget the competition and go at your own pace. Your only contest is with yourself. – William Zinsser

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S45E7 – Questions for the Author/Editor Interview

Editing is a kind of creative activity where, in a perfect world, an author and an editor find that elusive oneness to understand each other intuitively. – Sahara Sanders

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S45E5 – Style Guides for Editing

For the relationship to work, the writer and editor must respect each other’s expertise and passion. – Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler

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S45E3 – The Job of a Line Editor

Words. Words. I play with words, hoping that some combination, even a chance combination, will say what I want. – Doris Lessing

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S45E2 – The Job of a Developmental Editor

Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, ‘How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?’ and avoid ‘How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?’ – James Thurber

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S45E1 – Becoming an Editor

Editors have to be vicious. They’re working for the reader, not the writer. – Brendan Wolfe

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S44E2 – During Act I: The Exterior Plot

A mystery is solved with a story. The story starts with a clue, but the trouble is that you usually have no idea what the clue is, even if you think you know. – Lemony Snicket

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S43E3 – Characters: Secondary Characters

Think of every character as a main character. They believe they’re the main characters in their stories. No one should be just an obstacle. – Ben Edlund

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S43E2 – Characters: The Mentor

A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future, and believe it can be obtained. – Shawn Hitchcock

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