Talk it over: A fine polish
What’s the best way to proceed when a friend asks you to edit her humorous writing? Jane Wenham-Jones advises a light touch to make the comedy shine
A very good friend of mine in her fifties has caught the writing bug. She’s a wedding planner and has written several chapters of a non-fiction project – each one describing a wedding she organised. She emails them to me so I can give my opinion. Because I’ve had several books published she trusts my judgement implicitly. (A big responsibility for me which she’s not really aware of.)
Each one of these chapters is a gem. They are all hysterically funny and I read with tears pouring down my face. To my mind it’s the hardest thing of all to write comedy and hers is not at all contrived. She’s a natural. Where’s the problem, I hear you ask? Well, she wants me to edit them as she is really keen to have the book published and knows her grammar and spelling and punctuation are dismal as she was never taught it. She writes like a stream of consciousness, effing and blinding in her head at these dreadful or wacky brides and grooms, and at the same time describing the characters and what she’s trying to achieve for them to make their day special.