and involves considerable self-discipline, editing should also be treated
with caution. The most interesting elements of a creative text are often
irrational, the ones which stick out from the rest and which are tempting
to cut away. Make sure when you edit that you don’t simply conform to
what you think the text ought to look like, or how it might be most accept-
able to others, rather than how you would like it to be.
Some books on writing stress the idea of writing as a craft. This book
certainly focuses sharply on the technical features of writing, but does not
use the word ‘craft’ which can suggest the careful assembly of known ele-
ments, the polished rendering of recognisable forms, rather than a more
open-ended approach. However, this does not mean that experimental
work will be, or should be, messy or badly made. The strategies outlined
will help you produce work which is technically rigorous and meticulously
shaped, whatever its objectives.
Most university courses include workshops in which student work is
discussed by the class. This can sometimes result in a very productive
form of joint editing. Remarks about any particular piece of work will be
of many, and often of opposing, kinds. This should alert you (yet again)
to the arbitrary and subjective nature of the creative process. You will
probably find many of the comments very illuminating. Since members
of the class are not familiar with your material, they are likely to read it in
a different way. You may find, for example, that ideas that you thought
you had transmitted effectively do not come across to your readers. On
the other hand you may find that some ideas are more obvious than you
intended. Listen to what everyone has to say and try not to be defensive if
the comments are critical. But remember that this is ultimately your own
text, and in the end only you can decide how it should develop. Bear in
mind also that comments from other people may on occasion tend
towards conformity rather than innovation. Some members of the class
may be uncomfortable with experimental pieces because of lack of
familiarity.
The editing process will also vary enormously in accordance with the
type of writing. A piece of realist fiction will require a very different
editing mentality from that required for an experimental poem. A realist
narrative may need to be tidied up while an experimental poem may need
to be opened out. If editing takes place in the workshop, these matters
need to be discussed openly, so work is discussed in its own terms, rather
than in the light of irrelevant criteria.
Having voiced the above reservations, there are certain strategies which
writers call on when they are editing and which can be systematically
categorised. These are related to processes we have looked at throughout
this book, and can be employed at any stage in the writing process.
278 The Writing Experiment