Favorite work

Some of you may know that I've worked
for many years as a writer/editor. One
of the cardinal rules of writing is to
"kill your darlings," meaning that if
you think a sentence, paragraph, chapter is
especially good -- it isn't. http://everything2.com
/index.pl?node_id=1282093 As an editor I've
chopped and hacked away at some of my clients'
beloved prose, and revealed the good goods
under the shrubbery of excess. There's no time
in a daily blog for the great edit
-- unfortunately. My brother, a writer, who
frequently dissects and improves my prose,
teases me about this fact.

Artists need editors too. The same rule
of "probably not good enough" dogs
artists, sometimes to the point
of paralysis. I say get one friend whose eye you trust,
and if need be pay that person to look things over
and notice what you in your push to keep painting,
or get finished can't see. My friend Suzanne is that
person (although she doesn't charge me). I don't run
everything by her, because she's very busy, but
every problem she's helped me with was
improved by her vision. Here's another picture from
the current show at the Northern District Library.
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/hou_az_nd.jsp

Have an incisive day.