The Benefits of Recycling Writing

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

          I have taken on writing two more columns for the facebook pages of the magazines I write for and edit. Each week I alternate between book reviews and musings of my choosing. Sounds like a lot more work—and it is—but there are many benefits.

          For the book reviews, I often recycle the ones I’ve posted here. However, since they are slanted towards writers, I have to rework them to fit a general reading audience. This is an excellent way to hone my editing and rewriting skills. It means looking at every line to see if it works for a different audience. Great lines have to be cut, but, when I’m working hard, new great lines appear.

          This is fun work as I love these books. I want more people to discover them.

          Conversely, my musings for the facebook column have led to rewrites for posts for this blog.

I have the freedom to write about almost anything in the column. This can be overwhelming, but the deadline means pressure so thoughts I wasn’t planning on appear on the page. The surprise of discovering what I think is one of the best benefits of this type of writing.

                    How do I know what I think until I see what I have to say.

                                                                   --E. M. Forster

  

While I’m editing these facebook columns, I often see a way they tie into writing. With a bit of rewriting, I’m sharing these thoughts with my blog audience.

          Taking on more work is working for me. Getting two pieces from a blog post or column topic as well as strengthening my editing and rewriting skills are all terrific benefits to recycling my writing.

Recycle your writing whenever you can. Writing more leads to more writing. As writers, that’s the whole point.