Don't Taint my Talent: Rewriting by Aggie Villanueva

“But I don’t want to sully my gift with rote education.” Have you ever heard anyone say this? I have; even said similar things myself. And it’s true to a point. You can’t obtain talent through education. On the other hand, raw talent must learn everything about a craft to know what to throw away and when. This is especially true with writing.

And rewriting is one of the most important aspects, contrary to some beliefs that rewriting means running a spelling and grammar checker. If you don’t master the art of the rewrite, though you reek of raw talent, you’ll never be paid for your prose.

The rewriting craft is like the familiar story where a city dweller admires the realistic horse carved by a man from the hills. The woodcarver waved away the compliments explaining, “Shucks, I saw a horse in that piece of wood. All I did was cut away everything that ain’t a horse.”

The piece of wood was natural and pure, like raw talent, but it was just a piece of wood until the woodcarver took a knife to it. Only after he labored over it was it a piece of art. It’s the same with writing.

Yes, we’re given natural talent, that is, the ability to see a manuscript where none exists. But when we get this inspiration down on paper, it’s only a piece of wood. We must labor over it, cutting away what ain’t a horse.

Chop everything that prevents your readers’ instantaneous comprehension and interest. Whittle away what buries the art of your words beneath pulp, no matter the topic, no matter the genre.

We don’t betray our gift when we put the knife to our writing. Rather, we sculpt our piece of wood. When I first felt the call of writing, my response was to submit long, archaic poems and manuscripts in vast quantity.

It never occurred to me to learn my craft first. I wrote articles explaining broad subjects, such as how to raise children. It never entered my mind to stick with a narrow topic until well covered. I had The Calling to write. I must be an expert on everything.

I resort to jest, but seriously, it took some shaking up before I took responsibility for writing quality upon myself. Then I listened to writers and editors admonish: write, write and rewrite. I heard and obeyed, but my final work was not much better than my rough draft. I soon discovered the reason. I didn’t know what I was doing.

With my usual quick perception (and many rejected manuscripts, some of them nearly aflame from the speed with which they returned), I decided I needed some training. Reading books on the craft of writing I was overwhelmed by what I didn’t know. I signed up for courses, where I got my first real critical input. Community College classes are another good form of objective criticism, as are online courses and forums. This type of critique is vital. Beginners simply don’t have the knowledge to criticize their own work, and experienced writers always need fresh input.

Practice is critical, as is a grasp of grammar. But publication eludes without the constant use of learned skills. Even when we’ve fulfilled these career requirements, it is only the rewrite that polishes prose to perfection, if I may alliterate.

And if I may quote the Good Book, Ecclesiastes 5:7: “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless.”

There is more to writing than putting many words to paper, and more to rewriting than rearranging those words. Dreaming about writing won’t get you anywhere, and writing a thousand words a day won’t help unless you know what to do with those words.

About The Author

Aggie Villanueva, Grandma Moses of the American Southwes, is a critically acclaimed photographic artist, and writer with publishers such as Thomas Nelson since 1985. As founder of Visual Arts Junction http://www.visualartsjunction.com, Aggie gathered a group of artist from many folds to offer everything you need to further your artistic endeavors. Visual Arts Junction sprouted from the exciting concept at Aperture Aside Photographer’s Web Hub, which Ms. Villanueva also founded. Each spoke jutting from the Visual Arts Junction’s hub, both existing and planned, aspires to be your one-stop visual arts exchange. aggie@visualartsjunction.com