Substantive Editing: Building the Logical Inner Sanctum  

The inner sanctum of any good piece of writing is a solid, logical core. To produce the logical core, a writer frequently has to synthesize complex information, which means understanding it well enough to transform often muddled and random detail to clear and easy to apprehend expression. Synthesis of new information, being one of the most difficult thinking skills, can require more of a writer than the writer has time for. An editor's job, from the first draft to the last, is to help build the writing around an appropriate logical core. In this workshop, participants will practice techniques that editors can use to make sure that they find, or help the writer find, the core - what users need to know, and the order in which they need to know it. Participants will form groups to scan a document, using a checklist of tips to spot problems in the document's structure. Each group will report its findings to the larger group.

Nahigian, Alma L. and Jacquelyn Malone. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Editing>Information Design>Writing