I’m sitting here, trying to find words. That has often been a problem in my life… But I am trying to get this post done early, because when I would normally be doing so, I will ‘enjoying’ the effects of colonoscopy prep. The only trouble is I’m suffering the effects of a long day’s physical labor (I am going to lose a few days to this, so pushing hard) and also the after-effects of a midnight Ambulance-volunteer call-out. It turned out to be (small population) someone we knew well — not as bad as we feared, by a long chalk, but the adrenaline is always up on these calls, and when it is personal, naturally more so. Sleep came hard and late. So, I’m tired and under-slept. Pardon me being even less lucid than usual.

Something about the early prep diet for this procedure really struck me as relevant to writing. I’m doing without red meat, without vegetables, and without fruit, and quite a lot of other essential foods like chocolate. I’d have said: ‘That’s fine, it’s only three days. I can manage on white bread and coffee. And I can. My body thinks it is a lousy idea. It keeps telling me I need bacon, red meat, and home-made apple and loganberry crumble.

Now, I know this body of mine. It’s a liar. It has told me I was going to die within minutes several times, and, as far as I know, been wrong every time. It’s certainly prone to gross exaggeration and self-pity. But, whether it is psycho-somatic or not, I’m feeling pretty ordinary right now. Whether it is iron, or fructose, or just that bacon and chocolate levels are dangerously for adequate mental function… I know something is wrong without knowing exactly what it is.

I often feel the same way about a piece of writing – particularly my own. It’s structural editing at its most baseline level. Please do not confuse structural editing with ‘editing’ in general. Most ‘editing’ (which can be quite expensive) is really not structural editing. The editor may fiddle about with the deck-chairs, and do some of the work of proof-reader, but your book is still heading straight for the iceberg. I’ve written something like 25 books (I lose track) and yet… had 2 encounters with real structural editing. “You need to introduce another POV, here” or “This section ruins the effect of the dénouement.” One told me what was wrong, where. The other actually told me how to fix a problem I had had for years.

In both cases I knew that something was missing, something was wrong. Listen to that inner editor (Yes, he can get silly, and wrong. He thinks what your story is missing is broccoli. It’s really bacon. And sometimes the first readers tell you it was neither, just your feelings of inadequacy). If you can find someone to pin-point it — they’re a treasure. But it’s always worth responding to the voice that says something is missing.

See you on the other side.