Friday, March 4, 2011

Will I ever learn to Edit?

I had 36 hours to cobble together a post for my organization's blog. 500 words- one word every four minutes! More than enough time.

But I was feeling particularly uninspired. In two hours, I came up with something grammatically and factually accurate, but utterly uninspiring.
I tried a second time. The second version was engaging, but you couldn't understand it, unless you knew exactly what I was talking about.

I slept on it. But still didn't want to edit.
I was happy with Version Three- it conveyed all that I wanted to convey. I managed to get away without Editing!



_____
The blog post is here - Heros of Poverty Revolutions

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rayna - Editing is a pain, but your blog post is amazing! Folks, please read it. What a tribute to the way just meeting people's needs and treating them with dignity can make a such a powerful difference.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I like editing...
Considering your posts here are exactly 100 words every day, I'd say you already know how to edit.

Jemi Fraser said...

Love it! Sounds like you did your editing in your head - I love letting my subconscious work on it :)

Anonymous said...

Yay for version three. It's wonderful.

Al said...

Your efforts have paid off!

What a brilliant organisation you work for. Children truly are the future and you and you colleagues seem to be giving them one

Meera said...

You edit even as you write - so crisp and clear.

Natasha said...

@ Margot - thank you so much, Margot. When I first heard teh story of that kid, I just couldn't believe it. The dignity, and the pragmatism of one so young. Humbling.

@ Alex - I seem to have an inbuilt sensor for 100 words. But yes, I guess knocking off the right number of words can be called editing too.

@ Jemi - I do much of the editing in my head. Find it much easier than doing it on a manuscript :-(

@ Medeia - thank you.

@ Al - thank you. And yes, I agree- children and the youth are the future.

@ Meera - thank you.

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