Editing and the Mind

If writing were a psychic apparatus, the writer would be the id, writing would be the ego, and editing would be the super-ego.

Sometimes good editing goes beyond basic syntax and grammar. Writing is a conscious effort often heavily influenced by the unconscious: the writer's emotions and drives often slip into their writing, unbeknownst to the writer. The writing that they produce is an attempt at balancing the desires of the writer with the demands of the editor. The writer and the editor are opposing forces, with the writing being the only thing really joining the two. A good editor should take the writing and transform it to communicate the writer's overall intentions in the most organized way possible.

Writing doesn't necessarily have to conform to societal morals and expectations, but I believe that out of fear many writers restrain themselves in their writing by trying to please both themselves and the editor. This is actually quite damaging, because now not only has the ego (the writing) repressed the desires of the writer (the id) in a disorganized fashion, the super-ego (the editor) will further repress the writer until there is no underlying soul left in the work.

I like to think that the best writers in the world don't have an ego and that they are their own editors, in every sense of the word. These writers' super-egos and ids communicate directly, without having to go through the ego: this would probably explain why so many of the best writers in this world are depressed, self-conscious, and riddled with anxiety. The writer's super-ego can directly edit, judge and bring forth what lies in the id, without repressing or losing any authenticity in the process. The writing, then, becomes part of a strange emptiness - a nirvana, if you will. The author constructs an ego(the writing) without having an ego-construction themselves. This direct editing and communication transcends the id and brings forth something instinctual and beautiful, pleasing to both the writer and the editor.

I believe that good writing becomes its own entity through the struggle between writer and editor and their ultimate synergy. I believe that authenticity in creativity is born out of struggle and moments of transcendence. If anything, rules and technicalities should only help to communicate this in the most advantageous and recognizable ways possible.