Passion Versus Polish
I downloaded a song by this man onto my iPod. He's known for his acting . . . his good looks . . . being an alcoholic on and off the wagon. But not singing. However, something about his singing This Time . . . is very aching. In fact, don't just take my word for it, download it, or read the review of his singing here.
Anyway, what I was struck by is that he's not a trained singer, but the song is just rather haunting (in a movie I couldn't get through). And I think that it feels that way because he truly SOUNDS passionate, lost, in a state of agony. It's a case of passion over polish.
As an editor, for the last fifteen years or more, I often come across manuscripts where the writer clearly poured a great deal of emotion into the work. You can just feel it coming off the pages. But as an editor, I can also see in those same works passive voice, or wasted scenes, or characters that come in and then disappear, my guess because the writer couldn't bear to part with a "darling," or . . . you name it.
I have also read books by some big names that just left me cold. I somehow got onto a romance newsletter list and I get electronic first chapters from some pretty big names in the romance world--as well as newer writers who pay for the PR and get their first chapters distributed along with a bio and pictures and maybe a book trailer. Well, a week or so ago, I got one from a household name. And I thought it was the WORST piece of drivel I had ever read in my life. I mean . . . I sat there thinking, "If this woman tried to get published today, without her name, she would be the cause of whatever editor was unlucky enough to pull this from the slush pile getting major indigestion." It wasn't just my opinion that it was awful (all right, it was my opinion), but it was just cringe-worthy, cliched, and clearly an attempt to ride what's a hot market right now with NO passion for the genre whatsoever.
So you need both. The passion and the polish. And I think the polish can be taught, but passion . . . you either have it or you don't. I think chasing a genre usually results in a servicable novel but not a great one. By the same token, when we talk about being "ready" in terms of shopping a book, you have to have all the polish. I get truly irritated when (and believe me, they're out there) new writers say something along the lines of, "Well, that's what an editor is for" in terms of craft. They feel they have a hot plot, a hot book, and they want a shortcut to the bestseller list. They don't have the time to learn the hard way. You're "ready" when the polish is there.
Thoughts?
Anyway, what I was struck by is that he's not a trained singer, but the song is just rather haunting (in a movie I couldn't get through). And I think that it feels that way because he truly SOUNDS passionate, lost, in a state of agony. It's a case of passion over polish.
As an editor, for the last fifteen years or more, I often come across manuscripts where the writer clearly poured a great deal of emotion into the work. You can just feel it coming off the pages. But as an editor, I can also see in those same works passive voice, or wasted scenes, or characters that come in and then disappear, my guess because the writer couldn't bear to part with a "darling," or . . . you name it.
I have also read books by some big names that just left me cold. I somehow got onto a romance newsletter list and I get electronic first chapters from some pretty big names in the romance world--as well as newer writers who pay for the PR and get their first chapters distributed along with a bio and pictures and maybe a book trailer. Well, a week or so ago, I got one from a household name. And I thought it was the WORST piece of drivel I had ever read in my life. I mean . . . I sat there thinking, "If this woman tried to get published today, without her name, she would be the cause of whatever editor was unlucky enough to pull this from the slush pile getting major indigestion." It wasn't just my opinion that it was awful (all right, it was my opinion), but it was just cringe-worthy, cliched, and clearly an attempt to ride what's a hot market right now with NO passion for the genre whatsoever.
So you need both. The passion and the polish. And I think the polish can be taught, but passion . . . you either have it or you don't. I think chasing a genre usually results in a servicable novel but not a great one. By the same token, when we talk about being "ready" in terms of shopping a book, you have to have all the polish. I get truly irritated when (and believe me, they're out there) new writers say something along the lines of, "Well, that's what an editor is for" in terms of craft. They feel they have a hot plot, a hot book, and they want a shortcut to the bestseller list. They don't have the time to learn the hard way. You're "ready" when the polish is there.
Thoughts?
Labels: polishing a manuscript
posted by Erica Orloff at 8:01 AM
20 Comments:
Yes! What a great analogy! When you play a piece without polish, with passion, invariably it's all loud and messy. The effect on the audience is they end up a bit shell-shocked, like they've been yelled at.
Submitting your passion to polish and nuance means the audience gets to feel the passion. Raw passion is self-indulgence. It has its place at home, but if you want someone else to hear or read it, it becomes about communication and eliciting emotion from a reader.
Kinda like comedians. They rarely laugh onstage. They don't get that luxury. It's about the audience laughing.
Hi Spy:
Yes, yes . . . You know, the song I'm referencing is still polished--I mean, he recorded it in a studio, probably had quite a few chances to sing it and so on. He himself just sounds raw and wounded, but yes, there's some polish there. Versus . . . gosh, I can think of a hundred bands I've seen in dark bars where they just really screamed and wailed and were OK . . . you knew there was some talent there, but it was a bit self-indulgent.
hell, a lot of the punk movement was that. And I used to go see punk bands.
E
Lawrence Block once had a comment about "washing garbage."
The thought being, apparently, that all too often experienced writers with a lot of craft and skill spend their careers "washing garbage."
Grrr. Just another thing to add to the LONG list of elements a manuscript needs to succeed: polish, passion, voice, originality, a hook, great characters, tight plot, pace, cool setting, and mojo. It's no wonder it's nearly impossible to sell a book ...
JVZ
Mark:
What a great expression.
I feel grateful that I've sustained the passion for the work, even if sometimes I feel less passionate about the biz.
E
JVZ:
let's not forget the mojo. You need that.
With some good karma thrown in. :-)
E
Love the post, Erica. I'd think passion would be vital, and the polish you can learn if you really want to. I agree with your take. I love those songs that tug your heartstrings too. AI is a great example on T.V., talent but not all of them comes with the total package. And it does pain me, and quite noticable when someone is just going through the motions of writing. Who cares if it's hot in the market now, cause if it's a cold read people will remember that more.
ladonna:
I heard a new song the other day . . . Silver Lining. Anyway, I just thought the song nailed it . . . the singer, the song, the arrangement. And I imagined that producers of songs must get that goosebump feeling when they just KNOW they've got something special. All the elements. Not some pop song, falvor-of-the-month or what's hot.
E
Sheesh. I need some sunshine and warm weather. I'm muddled enough this morning that now I'm not sure if I should go 'passionately polish' or just take out the garbage.
=)
When you're on the road playing the same songs night after night it's difficult if not impossible to maintain a consistent level of passion. Some nights are better than others passion-wise, so it's really the polish that allows you to survive.
Same with writing, or a love affair, or anything, I think.
With writing, for me, the first draft is all about passion and subsequent drafts are more about polish. You polish and polish and polish because you're a professional, even though you're sick of the damn thing after a while.
The question for me is; if your work relies so heavily on an editor for the polish, are you truly the author? It may be your idea and your characters and basic plot, but who did all the work to make it publishable and shouldn't they be given credit and, gulp, royalties?
anti-wife:
Ahh . . . the role of the editor. Well . . . here's my little story on that . . .
Some writers hire an editor before they even shop a book. The market's just gotten too tight, too competitive. The editor is paid a flat fee, sometimes thousands of dollars. There's copy editing (dotting the i's, crossing the t's) and there's developmental editing (you deliver to the client a long memo of major issues within the book that need work). But except for correcting grammar and so on, no editor is going to rewrite your work. That's for the author to do. (Ghostwriting is different.) Even that memo . . . the author decides HOW to fix it--the editor is just alerting them to a potential problem.
Now, let's say you are agented and you sell and you get an editor who buys your book. They will go through and ask for specific changes. Sometimes it'll be line edits and such, sometimes actual plot changes or characterization changes. Depending on the editor, they can be intrusive/collaborative in a sense, or they can be less so. But again, it's suggestions--the writing is still the author's. But you can't attract an agent/sell, etc. in the first place and even get to that relationship without your having had written 350 pages already and invented a whole world. And polished it.
E
Jude:
I've heard of a lot of authors who say they get that passionate first draft down and then focus on the polishing.
E
[newbie visiting from the anti wife] Makes sense to me, but it's eliminating the 'subjective' that's far too difficult.
Best wishes
Totally agreed. By the same token, I can't help but be thankful for writers who think "that's what the editor is for" because automatically they've shoved me into a higher quality writing bracket. They've made themselves just another number and me look so much better by comparison.
I've got a lot of passion going for me, but I also understand polish. But I also understand there are many writers much better than me. If everyone took the time to polish publication might forever elude me.
So I'm thankful for those who make me look better by their lack of effort, lol.
My thought is that if you have a passion for your writing, you also have a passion to see it come to fruition, which involves...POLISHING. Know your passion, understand the process, find the balance. Otherwise you'll tick off your muse.
zoe:
You have the right idea. I routinely tell myself that about things--whether it's applying for a freelance job years ago or for sending out a proposal. I KNOW what's out there. Those slush piles are frightening.
E
kath:
And we never want to piss off the Muse.
:-)
E
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