Friday 21 August 2015

Edit Is A Four Letter Word

Glynis Scrivens is a name that will be familiar to many readers and writers. Her short stories and articles have been published in magazines and newspapers all over the world and she is a regular contributor to UK magazine, Writer’s Forum.

I am delighted to welcome Glynis to my blog to talk about writing in general and the publication of her new book, Edit Is A Four Letter Word.




Welcome, Glynis. I’ll start by asking, did you always want to be a writer and when did you first start?

I think I’ve always been a writer but it took me a while to realise. Ever since I was a child, I’ve found it easier to express myself in writing. When I turned fifty, I finally gave myself permission to write.

I’m very glad you did. Some of us have lucky mascots or charms on our desks, do you?

I’ve framed the drawing my daughter Amy did for the cover of my eBook of stories – still on my to-do list. I also have lucky notebooks and pens. If someone goes overseas, I ask them to bring me back a pen or pencil. I have pens from Alaska and Canada and some lovely pencils from Florence and also Jodrell Bank.



That’s a terrific drawing, Glynis. Your daughter is very talented. I love collecting pens from different places too. Do you have a dedicated writing room?

Yes – and no. We have a room under the house which I’ve claimed, but it’s not always usable. In mid-winter it’s an icebox and in mid-summer there are mosquitoes. It’s multi-purpose, being the only place we can store spare mattresses, an old wardrobe, assorted memorabilia and STUFF.
I’m usually there for a short while every day. I sit in a big armchair, feet up, working out my priorities. I edited my book in this chair, taking time out from life upstairs. The writing I do here is the hard projects – the commissioned articles I find hard to knuckle down to. It’s such a plain room with no distractions that I can shut the door and just get on with whatever needs doing.
I also like to write on our veranda. Or when I have the luxury of an empty house, I sit at the kitchen table.

How perfect, Glynis – apart from the cold and the mosquitoes! You’ve written both successfully, but do you prefer writing fiction or non-fiction?

I’d have to say fiction, for its greater freedom. You can literally let your imagination go anywhere it wants. And there’s nothing quite like the buzz of a story acceptance.
I enjoy non-fiction, particularly interviewing, but it’s me, my imagination AND an editor’s expectations. I like to let go of the latter when I can.

I agree it is lovely to let the imagination run wild. Do you write every day?

No. I can go for weeks without writing. It’s always a hard time for me. Then the drought ends and the words flow, and it’s a wonderful feeling. Some days I’m not well enough, other times there’s just too much going on. I need to create/find an empty space in my mind before I can write. And I also seem to need these fallow patches.

I’m sure a lot of writers will identify with that. I know you have a lovely beach house – do you write more when you’re there?

There’s no wi-fi at our beach house so most of my time-wasting activities are unavailable. Instead I relax and recharge my batteries. Sitting in the sun. Watching my kelpie chase waves. Looking out to sea for migrating whales. Everything lends itself to writing and I sometimes get an amazing amount written there. I drafted my editing book there, sometimes actually sitting on the sand watching the ocean as I wrote.
Other times, though, I simply clear my mind and come home in writing mode.

It sounds just wonderful, Glynis and a very inspiring place to be. You mentioned your Kelpie, do you have any other pets?

How much space do I have to answer this one? We have seven hens – Mildred, Gwendolyn, Marion, Elsa, Octavia, Roberta and Susie. Plus a Pekin rooster called Baxter who spends every night in my writing room, under a laundry basket, so his crowing won’t disturb our neighbours.
We also have two ducks, Odette and Hamilton. Odette is sitting on her first clutch of eggs. We candled them the other night and they’re fertile. The ducklings are due to hatch soon.
We have two rescue dogs, Lucy and Benny, and a magnificent Maine Coon cat called Myrtle.
On the veranda are a rainbow lorikeet called Rufus and a scaly-breasted lorikeet called Vincent, an evil pair who like to bite fingers that feed them.

That's my idea of heaven. I’m very tempted to up sticks and move in with you! But we should move on to your new book, Edit is a Four Letter Word. What gave you the idea to write a book about editing?

I wondered about collecting some of my Writers’ Forum articles together for an eBook. Then I noticed Suzanne Ruthven’s comment on Facebook about wanting a book on editing as part of the Compass Points series. I already had more than the required 25,000 words just in articles, so felt I could put a book together. Writing buddy Lynne Hackles made sure I submitted a proposal. Funnily enough, none of the WF material ended up in the book. But its presence made me feel the project was do-able and I’ll always be grateful to Carl Styants for that.

It seems as if it was meant to be from the very beginning. Finally, do you have a favourite tip/advice for anyone just starting out?

When I started writing, my brother Jim said I should write what was inside me to write and then look for suitable places to publish it – rather than doing things the other way around.
It’s advice I return to.
It’s easy to become pragmatic. Write what sells. And often this is necessary – bills need to be paid.
But the magic gets lost in the process.
We need to remember who we are and what it is we want to say in our work.

That’s great advice, Glynis. Thank you for being interviewed on my blog. It’s been lovely getting to know more about you.

Edit Is A Four Letter Word is published by Compass Books and is available to buy from AmazonUK and Amazon as well as other outlets.


Good editing skills are very important, more so now than ever. Your work, whether it is a novel, an article or a short story will stand a better chance of being accepted if it is well presented and properly edited. Not everyone has the same approach to editing, but Glynis will help you find what works best for you. This book is an invaluable addition to the writer’s bookshelf.


35 comments:

  1. Thank you, Glynis and Teresa, for such a lovely, interesting and helpful interview. I love the advice about writing what is inside us to write. I am off to order Edit Is A Four Letter Word as it will be invaluable for me and also for two of my daughters who are planning writing careers. Wishing you great success with it, Glynis. xxx

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    1. I'm so glad you found this helpful, Joanna - and I'm thrilled that two of your daughters are going to follow in your footsteps :-) xx

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    2. Thanks for your lovely comments, Joanna. I hope you and your daughters find the book helpful

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  2. Glynis, your home and beach house both sound wonderful places to be. Not sure I would get any writing done at the beach myself. Waves put me in a kind of trance, which is very restful but unproductive! Your book sounds an ideal aid to the editing process. Great writing advice, thanks.

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    1. It sounds idyllic doesn't it, Joanne xx

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    2. I've just spent the weekend at the beach house, Joanne. Hoped to see some migrating whales but no luck. And no writing done, I should add. Am in one of those fallow patches at the moment.

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  3. Always lovely to hear how and where other writers create, and your daughter's e-book cover is fun, it will certainly make readers stop and look further.

    Congratulations on Edit is a Four-Letter Word. :-)

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    1. Thank you for commenting, Carol - that picture is lovely isn't it xx

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    2. Thanks, Carol. Having such a nice cover is motivating me to get on with the ebook too.

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  4. That book cover is amazing, she has a talent for it. Great interview, and I must get that book, as I'm in the camp of writing what I want to write, that's because I find it hard to place a story with a womag, I'm a bit maverick for the editors I think.

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    1. I agree that you should write what you want to write - you've got to enjoy it haven't you :-) xx

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    2. It's surprising how many of these stories you write for yourself end up finding a home. It just takes longer. Don't forget to try overseas markets.

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  5. I want a beach house, Glynis! I can't think of anywhere more perfect to write. A good book on editing is something missing from my shelves and I see I shall have to remedy this.

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    1. I recommend it, Wendy (and I'd love a beach house too) xx

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    2. I hope you find the book useful, Wendy

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  6. Lovely to find out more about you, Glynis, and the book sounds really useful.

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    1. Thanks, Kate. I ended up using it myself when I had to lose 12,000 words from the manuscript.

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  7. A very interesting interview and it's great to learn more about a name I know well!

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    1. Thank you, Rosemary - Glynis's name is very familiar isn't it xx

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    2. Thanks for your lovely comment, Rosemary.

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  8. Thank you Teresa. I enjoyed this interview and enjoy reading Glynis's articles in Writer's Forum. Thank you both for sharing.

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    1. Thanks, Nicola. That's good to hear. It's a very worthwhile magazine, isn't it?

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  9. A very interesting interview. Thank you, Teresa and Glynis. It's always good to read more about a name you recognise. I shall certainly be buying 'Edit Is A Four Letter Word' when I move to that stage of my WiP very shortly!

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    1. Thank you, Jan - good luck with your WIP xx

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    2. Good luck with the writing, Jan - and the editing. It's surprising how much better you can make a manuscript.

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  10. That cover picture is eye-catching. Thanks for the interview, Teresa and Glynis.

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    1. It's a great picture isn't it, Keith - I'm looking forward to Glynis's e-book of stories xx

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  11. Hi humans, Teresa and Glynis,

    What an insightful, pawesome interview. And yes, that drawing from her daughter, Amy, is equally pawesome.

    Edit? Maybe I should make mention of that to my alleged human, Gary. Arf!

    Pawsitive wishes and doggy kisses,

    Penny xx




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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Penny - hope you are looking after your human :-) xx

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  12. A great interview Teresa, thank you. A writing room under the house Glynis? Intriguing. I shall be purchasing a copy of 'Edit is a four letter word' and look forward to discovering some new techniques. :-)

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  13. A great interview Teresa, thank you. A writing room under the house Glynis? Intriguing. I shall be purchasing a copy of 'Edit is a four letter word' and look forward to discovering some new techniques. :-)

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    1. Thanks, Deb. That writing room sounds brilliant doesn't it :-) xx

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    2. There are lots of different writers interviewed in it, Deb, and they all have their own ways of editing. I learnt a lot myself in the process of putting the book together. Hope it helps you.
      I've never thought of my writing room as intriguing, to be honest. Cluttered, yes. Poorly lit, yes.

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