Skip to main content

Edit From The End?

Maybe this is more of NaNoEdMo-relevant blog, but it's on my mind tonight...

I'm in the process of revamping the Receptionist Manual at work. Today, I was in the middle of retyping a list of suggestions to help a receptionist in training (or receptionist brushing up on things) better perform their job. One of them was proofreading, and in that tip was something I'd never thought about before.

Edit from the end.

I've only read through these tips about fifty thousand times - whenever I'm looking something up, or just wanting to refresh my memory. I want to ask myself why I missed it before, but I don't know that it's all that important to ask that particular question. The bigger question is - what do I do with this revolutionary thought, now that it has entered my brain?

I have to admit - this guy gets along great with all my other ideas. It's a beautiful idea. But how do I put it into practice... especially in a month where suppressing my inner editor is a requirement for getting through NaNoWriMo?

The simple answer, I guess, is to hack away at whatever stories I have ready to see the axe... to look at the short stories languishing on my memory stick, start at the end, and start editing. But how much time will that take away from writing once November 1st strikes and I barely have enough time to work, write, and get all my have-tos done for The World Race?

I guess I'll just have to dive in and see. Anyone else who can try this? Let me know how it works out!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Metaphors: Candles

I've recently fallen in love with candles. Since coming home from the World Race , I've bought at least one a month. My favorite candles are the ones that come in glass jars - because when they burn out, I can clean the remaining wax out and put the jars to other uses. Right now,  that means they get cleaned out and packed away in anticipation of my move to Flagstaff. But as I was lighting one tonight (vanilla spice... Thanksgiving smells? Yes, please!), I saw a metaphor for writing flickering away in the flame licking at the wick and melting the wax. I suppose it could be a metaphor for life in general, but since the theme of this blog is writing... Well, you do the math.

[Five Minute Friday] Purpose

Fiber bars, strewn along the side of the road. There had to be at least a dozen of them, still in their wrappers and completely unopened. No box in sight. Really? That's about the reaction my younger sister and I had when we stumbled on them on our early morning run. Really? along with disgusted sighs about the wastefulness of it. These were the expensive ones, not a generic store brand that kind of tastes and kind of looks the same sometimes. So, when we weren't keeping an eye out for their box, we speculated about what had happened. And wondered how many more we were going to see before the end of our run. "Maybe they took one bite and thought they were gross," my sister said. "So they threw them out because they didn't want them anymore." I let out one of those disgusted sighs and nodded along with her theory. "Yeah, or they got in a huge fight, and threw them out in a fit of rage." "That's a possibility." And...

How to Make Sure Your Book Review Request Does NOT Get Deleted

I've been hesitant to write this post. That is due, in large part, to how angry I get some days after reading book review requests. I curse, I rant, I snark. My cat will tell you it's not a pretty sight. But I also feel like this is a good opportunity to talk about what it is that makes me feel those feelings AND how to not stir them up. I'm not the only reviewer that gets frustrated when I see certain things in my emails from authors looking for a review. And I know I'm not the only one who gets triggered enough to ignore or delete those messages. I never feel good about doing it. It's just that I'm hitting the proverbial wall here and I want to hit it a little less often. So if you're an author looking for loving advice on how to approach reviewers (especially this one), read on. Review Requests I Always  Delete Before I get into what to do, I wanted to take a minute to look at what not to do (and how I handle it). Want to know what immedi...