The two episodes below are worth listening to.
But there’s one standout takeaway about help with editing: It’s described as doing “hand logging” which is a special (but you just make it your own) sort of shorthand that you scribble as you listen. I’ll unpack this more at the bottom.
A great episode…
I’ve had Episode 7: Dark Forest archive: The Edit from Jessica Abel’s podcast in my play queue for years. It’s a gem. (Despite the crazy title. Don’t confuse it with “Episode 7: Dark Forest”.)
It’s from her podcast Out on the Wire which is the companion podcast to her book, Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio.
It’s no secret I really enjoyed the book, and the podcast is also great—but very different. The podcast is a mix of content (like the book is content about great podcast creating) and meta about her work to create the book and the podcast. o_O
What’s it about?
It’s about an episode she published earlier in the show feed, “Episode 7: The Dark Forest”. It is also really good. It’s about being lost in the middle of trying to edit your show.
So then later in the Out on the Wire show feed we get to “Episode 7: Dark Forest archive: The Edit” which is an entire episode… about editing an episode which is about editing episodes.
Takeaways from “…archive: The Edit”
Hand logging as an editing technique (more on this below) — The practice of writing down words as you hear them during an edit, using indentation for tape and symbols like circles for boredom, question marks for confusion, and arrows for pacing adjustments, creating a visual representation of the entire story
Editing as biofeedback process — The concept that editors must monitor their own physical and emotional responses during listening, treating moments of boredom, confusion, or distraction as signals about story problems rather than personal failures as listeners
Occupying part of the brain while editing — The principle that editors should keep part of themselves occupied with note-taking or other activities to simulate real listening conditions where audiences multitask, rather than forcing complete focus that doesn’t match actual listener experience
The editor as proxy listener — The understanding that when an editor’s mind drifts or they become confused, this reflects a storytelling failure rather than a listening failure, making the editor’s unguarded reactions valuable diagnostic tools
Structural editing versus line editing — The distinction between major reorganization of story elements and sequences versus smaller refinements of individual sentences and pacing, with structural work typically happening before tracking
Signposting in narrative structure — The need to explicitly tell listeners where they are in a story’s journey and what to expect next, rather than assuming logical connections will be obvious without verbal markers
The challenge of editing one’s own work — The difficulty of maintaining objectivity about material when the writer is deeply immersed in the work and knows their intended meaning, making outside editors essential for identifying gaps in logic or clarity
Time pressure versus reflection in production — The tension between rapid production schedules that allow no time for reflection and the need for distance from one’s work to evaluate it objectively
Planet Money’s collaborative editing environment — The practice of having eight or nine people crowd into a small, uncomfortable room where the reporter reads their script while editors pretend to be listeners and furiously take notes
Normal edit scale versus deep structural edit — The difference between typical edits that might cut one minute through small refinements versus major structural edits that can remove five to seven minutes and fundamentally reorganize content
What is “hand logging”
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Writing down words as you hear them during an audio edit, not a complete transcription but key words that remind you what’s in the story
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Using indentation to indicate when someone’s tape/audio is playing versus when the host/narrator is speaking
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Marking the page with symbols to capture your reactions:
- Big circle for moments of boredom
- Question mark for moments of confusion
- Arrows to indicate pacing issues (should move faster, should be at the top, etc.)
- asterisks to mark stuff you need to move elsewhere in the show
- little flags where you want to add more narration/sign-posting for the listener
- The key point here is that you create and use your own symbols.
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Creating a visual map of the entire story across your pages so you can squint and see the pacing and structure at a glance
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Keeping part of your brain occupied with the mechanical task of writing while the other part listens, simulating how actual listeners multitask
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Serving as a warning system when you stop writing notes, which signals you’ve zoned out and indicates a problem with that section of the story
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Notes are often messy and only partially legible to the note-taker, but provide enough visual cues to remember reactions
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Technique originated at This American Life and was brought to Planet Money by Alex Bloomberg
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