Torn Curtain

As I find myself writing quite a bit for my current job. Almost all of my previous jobs required some measure of this but now it's almost all I do (aside from teach and fix computers). Whether memos, worksheets, instructions, or emails, the importance of editing and re-reading has become more apparent than ever. It's a good thing I've finally become comfortable with my writing.

While in school editing and revising were the parts I HATED the most because I wasn't a strong writer. My teachers used to say that my thought came to me faster than I could write/type so my work was filled with missing words, half-finished thoughts, and general disarray. Having other people, including my parents, read aloud my work made me feel stupid because all of the errors obvious. And, being a child educated in the Ontario public system during the 80s, I wasn't taught grammar very well (hooked on phonics definitely didn't work for me). It didn't get better in high school or university. I mean, eventually I learned enough to edit my work in order to get a decent grade. There were several papers where the content and ideas would be excellent but my mistakes would easily cost a grade point. I made my way through university with the help of patient friends, family, and writing centres (okay, I only went to a writing centre once but still).

It was only after university, when I really got into writing on this blog, that I truly learned to pause and fix mistakes without feeling stupid. This is key. I got better with more practice and then it got easier to write. I started reading books about basic writing techniques and it got even better and easier to write. Actually reading the rules of grammar really helped me understand the structure of writing. You'd think that studying semiotics I would have known all this before but I didn't make the connection. I had final internalized some of those rules and it made all the difference.

Now I usually wait a day or so before I post a long post (like this one). I re-reading the whole thing once or twice trying to catch mistakes and make sentences/paragraphs flow better. I still get lazy and post without properly editing. That means I'll read it later and change stuff. I actually feel good about doing this. My words aren't precious. I feel like I can express myself better, even if I have to go back and change entire paragraphs (just did this with my "listening to" post from a couple weeks ago).