Donald Murray / Workbench

I need editors. Editors allow me to be more daring, to attempt to write what I have not written before in ways that may not work. If my assigned editors are not adequate, I develop colleague/editors who can help me keep learning to write.

I recognize the time pressures on newspaper editors. I am not describing long psychiatric sessions but professional conversations designed to improve a specifc piece of writing and the overall performance of individual writers. I realize I am describing the kind of editing you may only be able to do once a day or less, but in the long run this will save time because it places primary responsibility for clear, lively, significant writing where it belongs — on the writer. It may break the cycle of dependency — “If they are going to write my stories I’ll let ‘em” It may also create writer/editor relationships in which each person can speak in a shorthand when on deadline. They may have a context to which they can refer as they need.

• Assignment. Most writers will produce better work if they are asked how they think a story should be covered. Writers may propose what the editor could have said, but if writers suggest the approach themselves, the writer will be more committed to it than if they are executing a command. The writer may need a few minutes to think and then respond, perhaps in writing. When writers are listened to, they may surprise themselves by what they say. I also need editors who give me a specific length and a firm deadline–and hold to it.

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