Last year I remember talking with an aquaintance who said he thought that he always did too much editing. And no matter how many times he re-edits he seems to wind up in an endless cycle of editing madness.
If you surf the Internet you will find all sorts of opinions when editing is enough from “When you’ve edited it at least three times” to “You’re not sure if you’re improving it or making it worse” to “You’re pleased with it.”
Reflecting back on my current project, which by the way is almost complete, I can say without the benefit of a doubt—that editing is up to the mind of the creative force behind the project. Although, those of us who are fortunate enough to turn our precious creations over to others may never deal with this tedious process. But in all truthfulness I believe it is worth the experience to at least edit one of your projects yourself.
- It gives you an overall perspective of your writing technique and what you are trying to purvey as a whole.
- You understand the process and the time and patience it takes to hone a finished project.
- You catch errors in your mind that need to be reworked that may not be translated correctly by a foreign eye.
- You get to read it from the reader’s perspective.
- Learn the difference between revising and reediting.
When is editing enough? In my opinion it is when you are satisfied with what you’ve created and feel it is ready to be released for all scrutiny no matter the positives or negatives. When you’ve done your level best the reader’s criticism is in the eye of their perspective. Your hope is in that perspective they at least understood what you were trying to purvey.
Now that you got some more fuel for the fire—Get back to those darn keys and create a newness of mind! Until next week…Blessings and Peace!
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