The "SOCKS" Moment
As a writer, I painstakingly draft my work, edit, and rework it until I start to feel like I am stuck in the cycle of lather, rinse, repeat. Sick of the uncertainty, I set myself the goal of researching my writing process. Putting my Science degree to use, I set up a research project with my writing habits as the center focus and recorded not only my thoughts and musings but the way I went about recording said thoughts and musings. The process of completing a “post-write” after each of my writing projects has helped tremendously to answer my research questions: how did I construct my sentences, my descriptions? Did I use plain or sophisticated vocabulary? Are my attempts at humor universally understandable? Are there details that I leave out because they are too personal that might be included? Do I include too many personal details that might bore people? Do I use a no-nonsense business approach or a warm and inviting tone? Do I overcompensate in my attempts to sound polite? (I know I do this, especially in my query letters!). Worse, do I come off as meek and ineffective? Worst of all, does it sound like I am apologizing for being an interruption into the reader’s life? After reviewing all of my work, pumping up my weaker sounding paragraphs and paring the over-sized ones I eventually reach the equilibrium I seek. The conclusions of my research on my writing boil down to what I now call the SOCKS moment.
SOCKS stands for the Spanish phrase, “Eso sí, que es!” which loosely translates to “That’s it, yes!” My eureka moment. I have discovered that, on average, it takes me five drafting/re-working sessions per article to reach my SOCKS moment. Some of these sessions – such as the original draft – can take several hours; others, mere minutes. While it is one thing to be a good writer, it is another altogether to be able to maintain that level of proficiency while working against a deadline - that is the difference between a professional Writer and an amateur writer.
In : Writing Processes
Tags: writing editing
I am Writer, spelled with a capital “W”. This means I have actually made a living off of what I write. Writers are a curious lot. We can go from blocked to 1,000 words an hour in about six seconds, our only inspiration being a looming deadline. People often ask me to share a little about who I am and what makes me tick. I am not certain they truly want to know, but here are my responses just the same:
