Revision

Bird in Space, Brancusi 1923

I knew Lee & Low wanted a book about the artist Isaumu Noguchi, but couldn’t figure out how I could begin to fit his long and productive life into a picture book format. The son of a Japanese poet and Scotch-Irish American mother, Noguchi had a traditional academic training in sculpture, but he experienced an “aha!” career-changing moment upon seeing the work of Brancusi in a New York gallery. The streamlined form accomplished what poets achieved in their work, a paring down to essence. With this in mind, my instinct was to be spare and lyrical in my approach. I wrote, rewrote, and rewrote, submitting many versions to Lee & Low. I am incredibly thankful for their patience and encouragement while I floundered, trying to find my voice and my story.

By “chance” (ha!) a friend invited me to an SCBWI workshop where children’s book editor and writer Amy Novesky was speaking on revision. Her talk was helpful, but more, as Amy spoke about her own work, also creative non-fiction, I liked her sensibility, and began to wonder if I could contract her editorial assistance. I’d like to make a plug for this approach. It was completely worth every penny I spent, to get a professional editor/writer to focus on my work. In-house editors receive too many submissions to take the kind of time and care I craved before acquisition.

Amy wrote extensive comments and gave great advice, but here are a few choice tips:

• Write the story you want to write. Write it in a way that inspires and impassions you. Even though my manuscript needed an overhaul, Amy helped validate my approach.

• Make every word count. With a minimalist style I needed to make sure every phrase, every thought was essential to advancing my story.

• Simplify your phrasing. Know what you are trying to say. My writing was too vague and sophisticated, forgetting my young reader. This advice helped me to be more concrete.

Ironically, Stephanie’s post was about getting words on the page (lots of them), about engaging in the process of writing without a critical filter. This post is about eliminating words, bringing back the critical filter. This can only come as a follow up to Stephanie’s important advice. Once the words are there the writer can begin like a sculptor, like a poet, to cut away excess to find the form.