Friday, February 15, 2008

Typos, Errors and Why :)

Y'all may have noticed that some of my blog posts aren't quite as clean as they should be--at least some of the more recent ones. I thought about just going in and fixing them, then I figured I would use this as a great topic for this morning's blog post ;)

I tend to blog first thing in the morning before I begin my work for the day. It's a neat way to sort of get the creative juices flowing and help my mind wake up--unfortunately, I'm still sort of half-asleep when I get here. I'm still working on the first cup of coffee and getting my daily bearings. So, the typos and errors are much more excessive than they would be later in my morning. Yet, that's not all of it.

Mostly, I wanted to show other writers that even us published authors have crappy first drafts ;)

I know that many aspiring authors look at their rough drafts and try to compare them to the works they're reading by their favorite authors. Of course, they aren't reading their favorite author's rough drafts though! And that seems to escape so many--and not just the perfectionists. I've worked with writers who just can't seem to get past the first chapter or so, always wanting to rewrite that beginning because it's not as perfect as they think it should be--either in the writing, or in the story choices. They think it needs more description (or less,) more dialogue (or less,) or it doesn't open soon enough (or too soon.)

If I were to wait until I had the perfect epiphany to say something deep and historically quotable before I blogged, I don't believe I'd ever post here (or to any of my blogs) ever again. Waiting for that sort of 'genius' to hit before one can move forward is to not understand that the 'genius' only reveals itself after reams of crappy writing ;) Like a recent commentator (Beth!) on my MySpace blog said recently--you have to mine for the gems :)

So, having said all that, I do realize the importance of having a polished and well written (or at least error free) thought when sharing with the public in any written form. While I may not be altering my previous posts, I will be making the effort to edit and make the following ones much easier for human consumption :)

If I didn't take the time to edit, what sort of writer would I be? :) Of course, all of this would be easier if I could just get my fabulous editor (Shout Out to Kat!) to follow me around and fix my messes--but unfortunately, I think she's a bit busy with full-length novels ;)

Let me know what you think. How important is editing for blogs, emails, etc.?

Warmly,
Jenny:)

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