My Editing Technique, or Lack Thereof

This is not a story at all, but a little overview of the way I prefer to look at a peice. I wrote this to inform those authors who have asked for my help of my non-traditional views.

It has come to pass, as of late, that several members have foolishly asked me to edit their work. And so, being the type who is not physically able to leave a request unfulfilled, I now officially have more on my plate then I would ever have thought possible. After all, I am freakishly busy, and a horrible editor.

I am not a master of the fine art of nit-pickary that is a required prerequisite for respectable editors. I don't give a smelly rat’s a*s about comma placement, or the use of a semi colon. I honestly couldn't care less if you forgot to indent your paragraphs or to leave two spaces when beginning a new sentence after a period. I am not one for rules.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not bashing a good technical writer - not at all! I am amazed by people who are able to pull together a solid piece that contains no errors yet still remains linguistically beautiful. And it seems to me that the talented sod who can create such a piece, is a true champion of the craft. Someone I greatly look up to. Someone I may strive to be like one day. But editing in that style just does not interest me.

What does interested me however, is the rhythmical texture of the content, and the eloquence of the work itself, and this interest is what gets me into trouble. 

I prefer to gauge the quality of a piece by how well the words were chosen. I appreciate rhythm and tempo and the sounds of the individual letters that are sitting next to each other. I respect an author who understands that when a character is in distress, the sentences are allowed to look past the rules of proper sentance structure and become short and choppy to reflect that emotion. If the sentence is fragmented, so be it, just as long as the intent is clear.

Human emotion is a strange thing, and I do not recommend attempting to sort through it all unless you have a great deal of time, and something hard to bang your head against. Adrenaline is an amazing feature of the human response to fear or excitement, and the fact that it can be brought on by a few cleverly placed words is what I appreciate in good writing. I want to be in the scene. I want to be your character. I want to smell the tinny scent of the slain beast's blood, or taste the sweet nectar of true love's kiss, or feel the bitter sting of jealousy. I even want to blush on occasion. Because writing has the ability to make a reader do these things.

You may live in an igloo in Greenland and be eating the blubber straight off the flipper of a Narwhal, and I may be sipping tequila on a beach in Cuba, but through writing we are connected. We are in the same place at the same time, feeling the same nervous flutter of our combined heart as we read furiously, needing to know what happens next. It is exciting, that. A quantum leap. Time and space travelling, bringing two living souls together with a common goal. Good writing, really excellent writing is magical.

And that is what is important to me.

So if you ask me to critique your work, I will do so with pride, for flattery goes a long way with me... But please don't ask me to check your punctuation or pay attention to the rules of the written word, because I won't do it, unless it is blatantly obvious and somehow alters the intention of the sentence. I have great respect for those among us who are able to do such a thing, but I myself am just not one of them.

Author's Note

A very early writing, some of it needs revising. Meh, the point is still relevant though.