Writing Tip 4

While in college, I wrote an essay about Michelangelo for Art History class. I learned that he had an interesting approach to sculpting. He felt that the statues he chiseled in stone were actually escaping the stone. In other words, as he hammered the rock the statue trapped inside was finding its way out. That is what editing your writing is about. It is not about destroying your handiwork or stealing from the essence of your genius! It is about helping the story take form by releasing the truth word by word or chisel by chisel. So, chip away until you find and release the beauty inside :-)