‘Editing can be playful and intuitive but it’s also a time to hold up ideas, descriptions, sometimes specific words. When you edit, you step back to assess how well the text succeeds and to come up with ideas to improve what’s on the page.’
“When you embark on editing as a creative challenge, it can’t help but lift the quality of your work.”
We interviewed veteran editor and teacher Pamela Hewitt ahead of her six-week course at Writing NSW, Professional Editing.
‘Identifying precisely where less is more is an art that writers – and editors – spend a lifetime refining.’
‘Accuracy is vital but so are style and elegance.’
‘Cultivate informed judgement. Dozens of techniques can improve the standard from manuscript to published text but the skill of identifying which to apply is the secret.’