well, the former part of the day was compromised by intimidating attempts to change unix code (?!?!) to clarify my presence on a network at c/h. of course the computer defied all logic and fairly straightforward instructions and eradicated the computer administrator, making all files visible and normal looking, but completely inaccessible. which brought things, of course, to a full stop.
so, with nothing more to be done i moved on to my editorial=esque duties for Brick, and was ever astounded at just how much there is to it. the Amount of changes needed to a paltry (in size that is) four page essay. and there are More and More and More again. it reminds me of a conversation a while back about editing, where it was pointed out to me (by RSS? no doubt) that to be a Good Editor is to be someone obsessed with finding and correcting Error.
well at least with the written page things are straight forward. (sort of). rules, precedents, strategically placed punctuation.
would that there was a chicago manual of style for living life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Much more to editing, really, than just that, though. Much more than the obsession with error, which is where a lot of could-have-been-good-editors get lost. And more than just obsession itself, which is a manifestation of the main thing, I think. The obsession is so necessary and so problematic. But behind it is something more to do with heart, I think. I think that's what makes it in the end. The kind of love that leads to clarity. The love of words, and most importantly the love of communicating. Not to be horrendously cheezy, but honestly, I think, it takes a very big heart. I think you are all set to be an awfully good editor.
It must be interesting to have the Vision of an editor when dealing with People.
i agree that it takes a Very Big Heart.
AbSoLutely.
You are Cheezily my proof of this in how you do your job.
but editing as a job and phenomenon is such a Strange manifestation of it, to me.
clarity clarity Yes Indeed.
i'm not sure that i'm a good editor though.
i guess time and lots of work will tell.
Post a Comment