Editing: My Mentor and Me
By Hannah Thomas
Have you ever thought about the hard work and long hours that go into making your favorite piece of writing as good as it is? Well, for my mentor and me, our editing process is unintentionally funny and full of dedication. I’ve created a podcast allowing listeners into the raw and animated world that surrounds our sessions.
Process
I decided to create a podcast that was inspired by the editing process between my mentor and me during our weekly sessions. We brainstormed our funniest, most difficult, and longest sessions that resulted in the best pieces. Together, we decided to make a podcast about the process of editing my ode to the neighborhood deli man. Using the app Anchor, I interviewed my mentor—asking questions about her experience helping me edit the poem, and she asked me questions about the process. Once I recorded sufficient audio, I edited and perfected the podcast while still preserving its authenticity.
Meet the Pair
MENTEE HANNAH THOMAS & MENTOR STEPHANIE GOLDEN
Hannah’s Anecdote: Meeting Stephanie has been life-changing. Within these two years, she’s been able to recognize my style of learning and process of creating. As a pair, we understand each other so well which allows us to work so quickly! We can spend hours working on a piece while sharing funny family stories with each other. Stephanie pushes me past limits I thought I could never get around by encouraging me to never use the words, “I don’t know.” She has taught me and given me room to grow as a writer, editor, and creator.
Stephanie’s Anecdote: This was our second year together, and I’ve watched Hannah grow as a writer and a person. (“I don’t know” has vanished from her vocabulary.) This year, I never need to tell her anything twice. She gets my suggestions and tips instantly and starts applying them in new contexts. Plus, her work has gotten subtler and more sophisticated. We work intensely on Hannah’s writing, but we also have fun. When we recorded a podcast interviewing each other, we laughed so hard I was afraid it would get picked up on the phones of other pairs recording nearby.
Hannah Thomas
Hannah Thomas is a class of 2020 Girls Write Now mentee based in Brooklyn, NY.
