Editing Stage #3: Walls and Floor

As a quick recap, I'm posting a series on editing. In this series I am using a house as metaphoric language in describing the stages of editing. Last week we looked at stage two, the framework, so this week we are focusing on stage three: the walls and floor.

The walls and floor of editing is basically psychic distance, "show don't tell", and RUE.

Psychic Distance

I've learned so much about this recently. Not even six months ago, I didn't know such a concept existed. Sure, I could tell when the narrator was close to the main character or not, but I never thought of it as a writing "rule".

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I'm still very new to psychic distance, so I don't feel like I could explain it well enough to be of use. Here is a video I've found very helpful. She explains it extremely well, and be sure to check out her YouTube channel, as well. I've found her videos to be very eye-opening.

"Show, Don't Tell"

Have you ever read a section in fiction that seemed more like a summary than action? The narrator was giving the short version of what happened. This is "telling". "Showing" is when, instead of saying "he was angry", try saying, "he balled his fists and yelled through clenched teeth."

One is not better than the other. There are times when you might need to tell instead of show, like when you're skipping a big chunk of time. Instead of dragging readers through unnecessary scenes, you can just say "three years later". They will love you for it.

But most of the time, I would say you should use showing. It's what dramatizes the story and makes it come to life.

Now forget what I said and listen to your story. What does it need in a certain section?

RUE: Resist the Urge to Explain

To be honest, I explain. A lot. Often my beta readers point out a sentence that I should cut, just because I'm explaining. I read through it, then think, oof, they're right.

When you explain, you're stating something that would best be left to subtext. It takes away the reader's joy and challenge to decipher things themselves. Subtext is what you read in between the lines, what is implied by dialogue or physical reactions. In real life, I find it extremely hard to read subtext and see what people might be implying. On the other hand, everything people say always has a second meaning to me.

This transfers over to my writing. Because I can't read subtext in everyday life, I tend to state what I want readers to find themselves.

The best way to use RUE is to read through scenes and try to find those sentences that state what the character meant and get rid of them. In their place, use physical reactions and expressions. Those are so powerful, much more than you might think.

RUE also ties back to "show, don't tell". Think of it as showing what your characters mean instead of telling what they mean.

Conclusion

These three parts of stage three are challenging. It takes a lot of work to master them, but with some practice and learning, I'm sure you're well on your way to a successful edit!

Writers, what do you think? Which is the hardest of the three for you? Are there any considerations for the third stage that I've neglected?