I know what you are thinking, "Isn't that obvious, Kylee? Duh you shouldn't work during any of those circumstances!" Well, let me tell you, the world doesn't always conspire with you so that you are 100% while working on a deadline (self-imposed or otherwise). Sometimes you'll start with the best of intentions, or you think you'll use editing to clear your head. It's just reading after all, right? All you have to do is watch out for minor errors. WRONG. Very WRONG. Which I will explain in another paragraph because this is going to get long.
Editing is keeping the plot line, character descriptions, the whole grammar book, and the entire English language in your head at all times while reading. It requires focus, and effort, and is like a little mind war, which is exhausting in and of itself. I feel drained about twenty pages in, and I had to work up to that. The more I edit, the longer I can edit. It's like long distance running for the brain. So if you are already tired, you will miss things. If you are upset or distracted, you will miss things. Really, the world does not need another poorly edited book on its hands.
The worst part of editing while not in the mood, is that when you go back to edit again, you'll feel the remnant of that mood in your comments and edits. You'll begin to feel tired/upset the moment you open the Word doc. The more you do this, the more you'll hate editing, until it becomes a chore and you just can't even deal. Then you quit.
Editing isn't for the stupid, or the faint of heart. If you can't spell most words, don't bother going into editing. If you don't know at least 75% of the rules for commas, don't go into editing. I could care less if you have the creativity to write ten books, but if you can't use proper sentence structure, you should definitely not go into editing.
There's my rant for the day. It's been a long one. Good luck out there fellow editors, and have a drink when you get home. You've earned it.
No comments:
Post a Comment