Dilemmas of a Writer: Editing

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When I started blogging, I just wrote stuff that came to mind. I didn’t pay any heed to whether the ideas were coherent or not. It didn’t matter to me whether the paragraphs were too long or whether the words were too big.

I was probably breaking a cardinal rule of writing which is to always edit what you write. You won’t get an article, a story, or any piece of writing right the first time. It’s a process of laying out your ideas, straightening them out, and polishing them. You do this until you’ve exhausted all possible ways to make it better.

There are a few editing mistakes that I’ve done besides neglecting editing. This all depends on your mindset when looking at your work.

One: “There are too many flaws in my work. Or for that matter, the whole thing is flawed. It’s one big mistake. So I should just scrap the whole thing.”

This is the wrong mindset. I know I shouldn’t focus on every mistake I make. Technically that’s what makes us human. It would make the writing relatable. So even though I’m a bit of a grammar Nazi, I have to pull back from the urge to criticize my mistakes. I try to put nuances in my writing now. I try to make it as simple and understandable as possible instead of using highfalutin words. Like highfalutin. Maybe just this once.

Scrapping your whole work because of some mistakes is a mistake. Since writing is a process, you can’t say that what you wrote was useless. Most of the time, the ideas you put out are going to be disconnected. They won’t make any sense in themselves. But you can derive inspiration from them. That’s why editing is important. You try to weave the ideas together so that they tell a coherent thought or story.

Two: “There doesn’t seem to be any flaws. I think my work looks perfect the way it is. I should just publish this right away and not take a second look.”

This was how I approached blogging before. Since I was writing in a casual tone, I thought it didn’t really need to be edited. But as I mentioned, a lot of my ideas became incoherent. So the posts rambled on. This is also just being lazy.

I realize that even if I’m writing casually, that doesn’t release me from the duty to write something sensible. I think this also involves knowing oneself. There are more experienced writers who could probably write excellently the first time. But even they still edit their work. That’s because they know that their work can still be improved.

As a writer, you have that urge to make your writing as perfect as possible. Neglecting that urge leads to shoddy work. Focusing too much on it just makes you miserable. With these two concepts in mind, you see the conflict within a writer’s psyche. A writer needs to have the kind of disposition to balance between perfectionism and mediocrity.

That’s where proper editing comes in.

Three: Editing while you write.

Okay, so I have developed this habit that when I’m writing something: I would edit it as I write. Being the perfectionist I am, I wanted to do it right the first time. By doing this, I was basically stalling my own work.

This hinders the smooth flow of ideas from your brain. When I write something, I usually say it out loud as well. At the same time, there will be instances when I think of a way to say it differently. While there will be times when I will get stuck on a sentence because it doesn’t sound right.

If there is another way of saying something or if there’s another word that fits perfectly, you should probably wait until you finish the whole piece or article. Otherwise, it would take longer to finish writing the whole thing.

So now, I’m trying to implement the same guidelines and habits that I developed during grade school and high school. Basically, put all your ideas out on paper and don’t take a second look just yet. Let everything that comes to mind flow out. Only then when you’ve fully exhausted what you want to say should you edit the rough draft.

It also doesn’t mean that when you’re editing, you’ll only do it once. Sometimes, when you read your work after a week, a month, or even a year, you’ll find ways to express your ideas in a different way. Of course, waiting a year just to publish an article is impractical.

What I’m saying is give yourself enough time to process. Maybe after taking a break for a day or two, or maybe even an hour, you’ll come up with something. Perhaps you can do some chores then go back to your work.

This is very simple and fundamental. But when I started blogging, I developed these other habits because I wasn’t really thinking about how people would read my work. Rather, I thought that as long as I am able to put out my work, it would be fine.

But I should do myself the courtesy of putting out polished work that I would be satisfied to publish and read. At least, by doing so, it would show how much effort I put into writing that article.