I came across Bad Idea magazine in Barnes & Noble the other day while looking for the latest printing of The Believer (music issue with CD!). These things happen, mags are potato chips, etc....
This feature from Bad Idea's website illustrates the editing process undertaken before an article is printed. Check out the deletions from first and fourth paragraphs: It is a very short piece, but strong because the editor removes the initial pathos-laden information, allowing the reader to ease into the story and the rising action. The details of Marko's life are only hinted at in the beginning, as the author mentions he "fled to Belgrade," "had run out of money," and now "packs as adroitly as a refugee." These small details pique the reader's curiosity but do not deliver enough information to satisfy.
The climax ("'For me, I felt happy about 9/11'") and the surrounding buildup is left mostly intact, with one important exception: the editor's command of "Show, don't tell." If there is only one mantra you remember in your studies as a creative writer, make it this one. These asides and clarifications have the effect of pulling the reader from actively imagining and engaging with the scene to passively accepting information. In this case, it's as if the author is presenting a good movie, but pausing every so often to talk about what is going on.
All writing is about communication; creative writing (even creative nonfiction) is about communicating an experience. If your reader feels what you feel, sees what you see, then you've done your job as a writer. If your reader senses your presence in the experience, you have "broken the fourth wall" (to borrow a phrase from theatre) and the connection is lost. As soon as you speak to your reader instead of about the story, you have taken away his or her chance to actively reflect (which is the very thing that makes reading fun and engaging). This is the challenge for all you creative writers: tell your story, let the audience make of it what they will.
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Isn't it? Apparently it is a monthly thing. They also have a Writers' Lab with the option to submit a story and a chance to have it published. Worth checking out: Show and Tell
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