Editing Writer (section)

==Process and methods==

===Writing process===
[[File:Carlyle manuscript burning Japan cph.3g10399.tif|thumb|Japanese print depicting [[Thomas Carlyle]]'s horror at his manuscript burning]]
{{main|Writing process}}
There is a range of approaches that writers take to the task of writing. Each writer needs to find their own process and most describe it as more or less a struggle.<ref name=Older>{{cite news|last1=Older|first1=Daniel José|title=Writing Begins With Forgiveness: Why One of the Most Common Pieces of Writing Advice Is Wrong|url=http://sevenscribes.com/writing-begins-with-forgiveness-why-one-of-the-most-common-pieces-of-writing-advice-is-wrong/|access-date=11 September 2015}}</ref>
Sometimes writers have had the bad fortune to lose their work and have had to start again. Before the invention of [[photocopier]]s and electronic text storage, a writer's work had to be stored on paper, which meant it was very susceptible to fire in particular. (In very earlier times, writers used [[vellum]] and clay which were more robust materials.) Writers whose work was destroyed before completion include [[L. L. Zamenhof]], the inventor of [[Esperanto]], whose years of work were thrown into the fire by his father because he was afraid that "his son would be thought a spy working code".<ref>{{cite book|last=Bryson|first=Bill|title=Mother Tongue&nbsp;– The English Language|year=1990|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-014305-8|page=185}}</ref>
Essayist and historian [[Thomas Carlyle]], lost the only copy of a manuscript for ''[[The French Revolution: A History]]'' when it was mistakenly thrown into the fire by a maid. He wrote it again from the beginning.<ref>Eliot, Charles William, Ed. "Introductory Note" in ''The Harvard Classics'', Vol. XXV, Part 3. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14.</ref> Writers usually develop a personal schedule. [[Angus Wilson]], for example, wrote for a number of hours every morning.<ref name=Wilson>{{cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=Angus|title=Interview with Angus Wilson|journal=The Paris Review|year=1957|issue=Autumn-Winter No.17|url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4848/the-art-of-fiction-no-20-angus-wilson|access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref>

[[Writer's block]] is a relatively common experience among writers, especially professional writers, when for a period of time the writer feels unable to write for reasons other than lack of skill or commitment.

{{Quotation|''Happy are they who don't doubt themselves and whose pens fly across the page''<br />[[Gustave Flaubert]] writing to [[Louise Colet]]<ref name=Brown>Plate caption to an image of a much-corrected page of [[Madame Bovary]] in the Bibliothèque Municipale de Rouen. In {{cite book|last=Brown|first=Frederick|title=Flaubert: a biography|year=2006|publisher=Little, Brown and Co|location=New York|isbn=9780316118781|url=https://archive.org/details/flaubertbiograph00brow}}</ref>}}

[[File:Leonid Pasternak - The Passion of creation.jpg|thumb|left|''Throes of Creation'' by [[Leonid Pasternak]] ]]

====Sole====
Most writers write alone – typically they are engaged in a solitary activity that requires them to struggle with both the concepts they are trying to express and the best way to express it. This may mean choosing the best genre or genres as well as choosing the best words. Writers often develop idiosyncratic solutions to the problem of finding the right words to put on a blank page or screen. "Didn't [[W. Somerset Maugham|Somerset Maugham]] also write facing a blank wall? ... [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] couldn't write a line if there was another person anywhere in the same house, or so he said at some point."<ref name=Hughes>{{cite journal|last=[[Ted Hughes|Hughes]]|first=Ted|title=Ted Hughes: The Art of Poetry No. 71|journal=The Paris Review|year=1995|volume=Spring|issue= 134|url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1669/the-art-of-poetry-no-71-ted-hughes|access-date=12 October 2013}}</ref>

====Collaborative====
Collaborative writing means that other authors write and contribute to a part of writing. In this approach, it is highly likely the writers will collaborate on editing the part too. The more usual process is that the editing is done by an independent editor after the writer submits a draft version.

In some cases, such as that between a librettist and composer, a writer will collaborate with another artist on a creative work. One of the best known of these types of collaborations is that between [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]. Librettist [[W. S. Gilbert]] wrote the words for the [[comic opera]]s created by the partnership.

====Committee====
Occasionally, a writing task is given to a committee of writers. The most well-known example is the task of translating the Bible into English, sponsored by King [[James VI and I|James VI]] of England in 1604 and accomplished by six committees, some in [[Cambridge]] and some in [[Oxford]], who were allocated different sections of the text. The resulting [[King James Version|Authorized King James Version]], published in 1611, has been described as an "everlasting miracle" because its writers (that is, its Translators) sought to "hold themselves consciously poised between the claims of accessibility and beauty, plainness and richness, simplicity and majesty, the people and the king", with the result that the language communicates itself "in a way which is quite unaffected, neither literary nor academic, not historical, nor reconstructionist, but transmitting a nearly incredible immediacy from one end of human civilisation to another."<ref name=Nicolson2>{{cite book|last=Nicolson|first=Adam|title=When God Spoke English: The Making of the King James Bible|year=2011|publisher=Harper Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-00-743100-7}}(p.240, 243)</ref>

====Multimedia====
[[File:William Blake Nurses Song Copy Z 1826.jpg|thumb|[[William Blake]] "[[Nurse's Song]]" from ''[[Songs of Innocence and of Experience]]'']]
Some writers support the verbal part of their work with images or graphics that are an integral part of the way their ideas are communicated. [[William Blake]] is one of rare poets who created his own paintings and drawings as integral parts of works such as his ''[[Songs of Innocence and of Experience]]''. [[Cartoonist]]s are writers whose work depends heavily on hand drawn imagery. Other writers, especially writers for children, incorporate painting or drawing in more or less sophisticated ways. [[Shaun Tan]], for example, is a writer who uses imagery extensively, sometimes combining fact, fiction and illustration, sometimes for a didactic purpose, sometimes on commission.<ref name=Tan>{{cite book|last=Tan|first=Shaun|title=The Oopsatoreum|year=2012|publisher=Powerhouse Publishing|location=Sydney|isbn=9781863171441}}</ref> Children's writers [[Beatrix Potter]], [[May Gibbs]], and [[Dr. Seuss|Theodor Seuss Geisel]] are as well known for their illustrations as for their texts.

====Crowd sourced====
{{main|Crowdsourcing}}
Some writers contribute very small sections to a part of writing that cumulates as a result. This method is particularly suited to very large works, such as dictionaries and encyclopaedias. The best known example of the former is the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', under the editorship of lexicographer [[James Murray (lexicographer)|James Murray]], who was provided with the prolific and helpful contributions of [[William Chester Minor|W.C. Minor]], at the time an inmate of a hospital for the criminally insane.<ref name=Crowthorne>{{cite book|last=Winchester|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Winchester|title=The Surgeon of Crowthorne: a tale of murder, madness and the love of words|year=1998|publisher=Viking|location=London|isbn=0670878626|title-link=The Surgeon of Crowthorne: a tale of murder, madness and the love of words}}</ref>

The best known example of the latter – an encyclopaedia that is crowdsourced – is Wikipedia, which relies on millions of writers and editors such as [[Simon Pulsifer]]<ref name=Grossman>{{cite magazine|last=Grossman|first=Lev|title=Simon Pulsifer: The Duke of Data|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570732,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210120348/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1570732%2C00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 February 2007|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=21 February 2013|date=16 December 2006}}</ref> worldwide.

===Motivations===
Writers have many different reasons for writing, among which is usually some combination of self-expression<ref name=Styron>{{cite journal|last1=Peter Matthiessen, George Plimpton|title=William Styron, The Art of Fiction No. 5|url= http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5114/the-art-of-fiction-no-5-william-styron|journal=The Paris Review|year=1954|issue=Spring|access-date=27 December 2014}}</ref> and recording facts, history or research results. The many [[physician writer]]s, for example, have combined their observation and knowledge of the [[human condition]] with their desire to write and contributed many poems, plays, translations, essays and other texts. Some writers write extensively on their motivation and on the likely motivations of other writers. For example, [[George Orwell]]'s essay "[[Why I Write]]" (1946) takes this as its subject. As to "what constitutes success or failure to a writer", it has been described as "a complicated business, where the material rubs up against the spiritual, and psychology plays a big part".<ref name=Sullivan>{{cite news|last1=Sullivan|first1=Jane|title=JK Rowling on turning failure into success|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/jk-rowling-on-turning-failure-into-success-20141219-129vm6.html|access-date=27 December 2014|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=27 December 2014}}</ref>

{{Quotation|''The moral I draw is that the writer should seek his reward in the pleasure of his work and in release from the burden of this thoughts; and, indifferent to aught else, care nothing for praise or censure, failure or success.''<br />[[W. Somerset Maugham]] in ''[[The Moon and Sixpence]]'' (1919)<ref name=Maugham>{{cite book|last1=Maugham|first1=Somerset|title=The Moon and Sixpence|date=1999|publisher=Vintage|isbn=9780099284765|page=8|chapter=2}}</ref> }}

====Command====
Some writers are the authors of specific military orders whose clarity will determine the outcome of a battle. Among the most controversial and unsuccessful was [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|Lord Raglan]]'s order at the [[Charge of the Light Brigade]], which being vague and misinterpreted, led to defeat with many casualties.

====Develop skill/explore ideas====
Some writers use the writing task to develop their own skill (in writing itself or in another area of knowledge) or explore an idea while they are producing a piece of writing. [[Philology|Philologist]] [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], for example, created a new language for his fantasy books.

{{Quotation| ''For me the private act of poetry writing is songwriting, confessional, diary-keeping, speculation, problem-solving, storytelling, therapy, anger management, craftsmanship, relaxation, concentration and spiritual adventure all in one inexpensive package.''<br />[[Stephen Fry]], author, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist<ref name=Fry>{{cite book|last=Fry|first=Stephen|title=The Ode Less Travelled – Unlocking the Poet Within|year=2007|publisher=Arrow Books|isbn=978-0-09-950934-9|pages=xii}}</ref>}}

====Entertain====
Some genres are a particularly appropriate choice for writers whose chief purpose is to entertain. Among them are [[Limerick (poetry)|limericks]], many comics and [[Thriller (genre)|thrillers]]. Writers of children's literature seek to entertain children but are also usually mindful of the educative function of their work as well.

{{blockquote|<poem>''I think that I shall never see''
''a billboard lovely as a tree;''
''Indeed, unless the billboards fall''
''I'll never see a tree at all.''
[[Ogden Nash]], humorous poet, reworking a poem by [[Joyce Kilmer]] for comic effect.<ref name="Nash">Nash, Ogden, "Song of the Open Road", ''The Face Is Familiar'' (Garden City Publishing, 1941), p. 21</ref></poem>}}

====Influence====
[[File:Ninety-Five Theses, Wittenberg.JPG|thumb|The ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'' (at the All Saints' Church, [[Wittenburg]])]]
Anger has motivated many writers, including [[Martin Luther]], angry at religious corruption, who wrote the ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'' in 1517, to reform the church, and [[Émile Zola]] (1840–1902) who wrote the public letter, ''[[J'accuse…!|J'Accuse]]'' in 1898 to bring public attention to government injustice, as a consequence of which he had to flee to England from his native France. Such writers have affected ideas, opinion or policy significantly.

====Payment====
{{Quote box
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<poem>
'''Even though he is in love with the same woman, Cyrano helps his inarticulate friend, Rageneau, to woo her by writing on his behalf ...'''<br />
CYRANO:   What hour is it now, Ragueneau?
RAGUENEAU (stopping short in the act of thrusting to look at the clock): Five minutes after six!...'I touch!' (He straightens himself):   ...Oh! to write a ballade!
...
RAGUENEAU:   Ten minutes after six.
CYRANO: (nervously seating himself at Ragueneau's table, and drawing some paper toward him): A pen!. . .
RAGUENEAU (giving him the one from behind his ear): Here – a swan's quill.
...
CYRANO (taking up the pen, and motioning Ragueneau away):  Hush! (To himself): I will write, fold it, give it her, and fly! (Throws down the pen): Coward! ...But strike me dead if I dare to speak to her, ...ay, even one single word! (To Ragueneau): What time is it?
RAGUENEAU:   A quarter after six! ...
CYRANO (striking his breast): Ay-a single word of all those here! here!  But writing, 'tis easier done... (He takes up the pen): Go to, I will write it, that love-letter!  Oh!  I have writ it and rewrit it in my own mind so oft that it lies there ready for pen and ink; and if I lay but my soul by my letter-sheet, 'tis naught to do but to copy from it.  (He writes.  ...)<br />[[Edmond Rostand]], ''[[Cyrano de Bergerac (play)|Cyrano de Bergerac]]''<br />Act II, Scene 2, (3)<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1445091&pageno=50| title = Rostand, ''Cyrano de Bergerac'': Act II, Scene 2, (3)}}</ref>
</poem>
}}

Writers may write a particular piece for payment (even if at other times, they write for another reason), such as when they are commissioned to create a new work, transcribe an original one, translate another writer's work, or write for someone who is illiterate or inarticulate. In some cases, writing has been the only way an individual could earn an income. [[Frances Milton Trollope|Frances Trollope]] is an example of women who wrote to save herself and her family from penury, at a time when there were very few socially acceptable employment opportunities for them. Her book about her experiences in the United States, called ''[[Domestic Manners of the Americans]]'' became a great success, "even though she was over fifty and had never written before in her life" after which "she continued to write hard, carrying this on almost entirely before breakfast".<ref name=Moore>{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Katherine|title=Victorian Wives|year=1974|publisher=Allison & Busby|location=London, New York|isbn=0-85031-634-0|pages=65–71}}</ref> According to her writer son [[Anthony Trollope]] "her books saved the family from ruin".<ref name=Moore />

{{Quotation| ''I write for two reasons; partly to make money and partly to win the respect of people whom I respect.''<br />[[E. M. Forster]], novelist, essayist, librettist<ref name=Forster>Quoted in the introduction to the author in the 1962 edition of {{cite book|last=E.M. Forster|title=Aspects of the Novel|year=1927|publisher=Penguin|author-link=E. M. Forster|title-link=Aspects of the Novel}}</ref>}}

====Teach====
[[Aristotle]], who was tutor to [[Alexander the Great]], wrote to support his [[education|teaching]]. He wrote two [[treatise]]s for the young prince: "On Monarchy", and "On Colonies"<ref name=MacLeod>{{cite book|title=The Library of Alexandria|year=2000|publisher=The American University in Cairo Press|location=Cairo, Egypt|isbn=977-424-710-8|pages=79–91|author=R.G. Tanner|chapter=Aristotle's Works: The Possible Origins of the Alexandria Collection|editor=Roy MacLeod}}</ref> and his [[dialogue]]s also appear to have been written either "as lecture notes or discussion papers for use in his philosophy school at the Athens [[Lyceum (classical)|Lyceum]] between 334 and 323 BC."<ref name= MacLeod /> They encompass both his 'scientific' writings ([[metaphysics]], [[physics]], [[biology]], [[meteorology]], and [[astronomy]], as well as [[logic]] and [[argument]]) the 'non-scientific' works (poetry, [[Public speaking|oratory]], ethics, and politics), and "major elements in traditional [[Classical Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] education".<ref name= MacLeod />

Writers of [[textbook]]s also use writing to teach and there are numerous instructional guides to writing itself. For example, many people will find it necessary to make a speech "in the service of your company, church, civic club, political party, or other organization" and so, instructional writers have produced texts and guides for speechmaking.<ref name=Dowis>{{cite book|last=Dowis|first=Richard|title=The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write One : How to Deliver It|year=2000|publisher=AMA publications|location=New York|isbn=0-8144-7054-8|page=2}}</ref>

====Tell a story====
Many writers use their skill to tell the story of their people, community or cultural tradition, especially one with a personal significance. Examples include [[Shmuel Yosef Agnon]]; [[Miguel Ángel Asturias]]; [[Doris Lessing]]; [[Toni Morrison]]; [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]]; and [[Patrick White]].
Writers such as [[Mario Vargas Llosa]], [[Herta Müller]], and [[Erich Maria Remarque]] write about the effect of conflict, dispossession and war.

====Seek a lover====
Writers use prose, poetry, and letters as part of courtship rituals.  [[Edmond Rostand]]'s play ''[[Cyrano de Bergerac (play)|Cyrano de Bergerac]]'', written in verse, is about both the power of love and the power of the self-doubting writer/hero's writing talent.