The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts (Donald M. Murray)

I started writing when I was in Grade 5, aged 11, if I remember correctly. I started off as an editorial writer until I decided to continue in the field until high school, although I also did news writing to break the monotony. When I became the News Editor during my second year, I was already obliged to edit all the articles that fall in my section. The editing was easy, given that there is already a fixed structure that should be followed in writing a news article.

Since I was basically an editorial writer, I was also asked to help in editing the editorial articles and opinions that would fill the spaces in the publication’s opinion column. And I didn’t find it easy. It’s hard to balance my own way of writing with the structure and treatment of the subject that they applied in their articles. It was a difficult and somehow a tedious process. I don’t even know how I was able to get through that. Well, even I have a difficulty in revising my own articles unless it is already bulleted in red ink which means the key points that I need to restructure in my piece. Without these comments, I’m lost.

Now, I think I already found the answer to that dilemma. During our English 1 sessions, the class came across Donald M. Murray’s The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts. From the title itself, the article is an analysis of the process that could be held model in revising a manuscript. It was very informative and instructive especially today that I’m already a college student. The processes in the revision procedure is easy to follow, although one may opt to devise his own way of revising based on the instructions of Murray. He was able to explain why one process must be done first, or why another must be the last. Also, he didn’t talk just about the stages of the revision process; he also gave tips on how an editor can carry on with every phase. It’s a must – read for everyone who finds it painstaking to pore over his manuscript but never really gets his article smoothed out.