I’ve been a writer all my life. I cannot remember a time when my right hand did not grasp a pen and moved left to right on a page, documenting the significant and insignificant morsels of living.
A few years ago, I was struck by lightning and had the tremendous opportunity to work with make/shift magazine, and with Jess Hoffman, and slowly begin learning about the fundamentals of editing.
Editing has its moments of excruciating difficulty. It is not the free flowing creative river that is writing. It can be an unpredictable whiplash that stings every time you work with a new writer. I’ve had the magnificent pleasure of learning from many different kinds of writers and editors and, today, thought of the countless similarities I began seeing in my relationship with God and my relationship with editing.
This is what I found…
The Twelve Startling Similarities Between God and the Right Editor
1) The Editor works with you and your ideas, trying to observe and guide and not intercede.
2) When you are excessively verbose, the Editor gets to the heart of what you are saying.
3) The Editor is patient, but nudges you from time to time.
4) The Editor knows that the writer must equally trust the Editor and believe in herself.
5) The Editor has worked with so many different kinds of writers, you know there’s nothing that the Editor hasn’t seen.
6) The Editor knows what is sacred and carefully addresses issues close to your heart.
7) The Editor has a vision, but it is co-authored.
8) Ultimately, the Editor wants your best self, your best work, and works with you to make that manifest.
9) Often times in conversation with the Editor, you realize hidden truths underneath a lot of rubble.
10) “I know what I know, what do YOU think?”
11) The Editor will never give you an assignment that is too large for you to handle.
12) The Editor has a way of arranging things that leaves you mystified, dumbstruck, and grateful.
So, to all the writers out there: I wish you not only deep, rich soil to till your work in, I wish you a gracious and visionary editor who believes in your ability to fruitfully open a truth for yourself to share with the world.