Chloë Rayban

I’ve generally been on the receiving end of editorial advice and I’ve found the help my editors have given me over the years invaluable. I find it fascinating to see the same challenges being faced by fellow writers. A writer, in the process of creating, often gets bogged down in the nitty-gritty and can’t see where their strengths lie. ‘Looking over a writer’s shoulder’ so to speak, allows an editor to see the bigger picture. If I can communicate where the essence of a writer’s story is, and which elements are really working, I feel I have done my job. The topics I like tackling are story pacing: Where do the highs and lows occur? Is there enough plot knitting. Are the climaxes in the right place? Dialogue: Is it in character? Does it sound natural? Is it moving the story forward? And is there a good balance between showing and telling. I have a little selfish motive too – you learn so much from helping other people with their writing.