As happens every now and again, the subject of drafting and editing came up in my channels. The discussion is always a mixed bag of “Eh, it’s ok” and “I don’t mind it” and “Ah, I want to poke my eyes out”
Someone even compared it to practicing the scales (they were a musician) and that got me to thinking.
Me, I love drafting and editing – for different reasons. I love drafting, because the possibilities are endless – even with an outline.
Editing? That’s a chance to further bridge the gap between what was in my head and what’s on the page. It’s also a time to polish and…I was going to use perfect here, but I’m going to use Finish because “Perfect” isn’t something I’m ever going to reach.
Both are opportunities to learn and grow. Drafting can be compared (loosely) to practicing the scales, while Editing can be compared to rehearsing.
In both places (drafting more so than editing–unless you’re willing to really dig into the work) there lies the opportunity to play. To go off in an unexpected direction just to see what’s there.
Sometimes it works, and sometimes it won’t. To be sure, the phrase “What the hell, what if I try this…” has been the site of some truly catastrophic failure, but the seeds of truly Awesome things have been sown in those fields as well.
Practice is important. After all, you have to know what the rules are before you can break them.
Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.
I’ll see you on Thursday.
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