There are two that come to mind. Let’s get them out of the way now:
- It’s and its
- Their, there and they’re
If me typing either of those gets you excited for a conversation about two common grammar mistakes, steer clear. I’m addressing first-draft writing. Specifically, I’m addressing the need to move an idea that’s caught in my mind and onto the page. So, this article has to do with the creative process.
I’m a big believer that typing the draft without hesitation; without the want to go back and redact passages and correct words, is vital. Necessary, even. Otherwise, I’m probably typing a business letter or a medical insurance claim. All over the Absolute Write forums, the “sages” and many I consider experts agree: write first, edit later. So does this person. And this one. Sit. Write. Get it out. And at no point be worried about spelling, grammar or, to some extent, coherency. Butt in Chair. Two hours each day. Write. In short, get the draft done.
As Dr. Seuss said, “Everything stinks until it’s finished.”
Ideas are odd things and can be slippery as stream fish. At one moment, something pops into my head that could cure cancer. And in a fleeting moment, it’s gone. The phenonenon is similar to needing something upstairs then getting downstairs and forgetting what I wanted. Ever reached for a plastic cup and grabbed a cereal bowl instead? I did that last night.
However, while writing, I could care less about the Oxford comma, the possessive or whether or not I spelled out a number. I’m hoping that through education and experience, enough of those things are rooted into my first draft (because there will be less to correct afterward). if not, I’ll catch them later. And I usually also hire a proof reader (Hi Rhonda!) to walk behind me and pick up after me, too.
See, I always fall back on something Keith Olbermann gave as advice to an up-and-coming broadcaster. He said something like this: you’re either in front of the microphone your behind it. Choose one. However, once you take the opportunity to produce or direct, you don’t come back.
Editing and editors are hand-in-glove in ensuring the success of almost ANY commercially viable entertainment process. Editors are gatekeepers. They are sounding boards. But, they are people who’ve chosen a different path than the creator (a management or administration role). Along with a host of other people, they are the gears that move a creator’s content from brain to Barnes and Noble. They matter.
I’ve done both. I’ve served as the editor for newspapers. I’ve been a senior staff writer for a magazine that reached about 500,000 people. I’m pretty good at editing, but I prefer writing. I like hunting and killing. I’d prefer someone else cook it and serve it.
That’s not to say I don’t edit my work. Of course I do. With care. Grammar. Spelling. Style. The whole nine yards. And then I turn it over to people who have roles within the process as editors. They are on the other side of the microphone. They cook it and serve it. However, it’s my job to produce the best story I can with every ounce of creative muscle I can muster to make it happen. Editors champion it the rest of the way.
To that end, being creative is about risk. Even in this blog post, with facts lined up and sources cited, I take a risk on value and entertainment. And that risk takes energy. And the energy expended to get the idea from mental chaos into something a reader will read takes a different set of gears than what’s required in the editing process. To that end, I like what my friend Mel says about being a writer (and a creative). There are also plenty of other “I am a writer” manifestos on the Web if you need them. Maybe this is mine.
Still, I can see the proclivity for many people who say they are writers to want to be editors. I can see it in their blog postings. I can tell by the tone of their forum posts. There’s just an attitude about what they are saying. They blog more about editing than they do posting. So I wonder what motivates writers who create blog postings about the Oxford comma or revel in someone else’s in ability to fix the spelling of “purient.”
They’re probably the ones who get too caught up in process, time management or overly worrying about what font the manuscript should be written with. That’s an editor’s role (though, as mentioned, there are some basic tools necessary to even finish a first draft).
So, tell me a little about how your ideas go from grey matter to the double spaced page. Do you edit as you go? Are you an editor or a creator?
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jason Tudor. Jason Tudor said: My new column: Keep Your Grammar Nazi… http://www.jasontudor.com/2010/05/10/keep-your-grammar-nazi-out-of-my-first-draft/ #writing, [...]
No argument from me. I always tell people to keep the fingers flying, because no one can fix anything until there’s something to fix. But I hope people also caught that you edit your draft thoroughly before anyone else sees it. The writer needs to be the first editor. I promise you that no matter how good something is conceptually and how well the story is told, I’ll think you’re lazy — at best — if you give me something to edit that’s rife with grammar and mechanical errors. I understand some things are going to slip through. But if it’s clear you expect me to be more committed to the quality of your work than you are, we’re not going to have a good relationship.
I don’t know how or when I became a Grammar Nazi, but somehow, somewhere between college and Communications roles, it happened. That is not to say that I am always right or always catch every semicolon, but, because of this grammatical head trip, I have found it so hard to just sit back and write like I used to – to find the way back to creator from editor.
That said, I find it funny that your article should appear today; last night something happened – I had a breakthrough. After going to bed (and not being able to sleep) I started to write, er, type on my iphone a story that has been swirling through my head – I kept going and going even when my wrists cramped from using the tiny touchpad keyboard. Like a streaker running naked through the night, I just typed without the cover of my APA manual. It was quite exhilarating and I hope it happens again soon.
GREAT post! And thanks for the shout-out.
When I write, I try my darndest to shove that inner editor out of the way and focus on drafting. However, it sneaks through every once in a while. Once that’s done, I let the Grammar Nazi take over and rip the story to shreds. haha
I splat my brain onto the page and tidy it up later.
I try not to worry about grammar, repetition, spelling or repetition until I’ve hit “The End” and let the book sit for a while.
Adam
Oh, this is a touchy subject for me. My heart wants to throw the entire bucket on the canvas and then go back and work with it. My mother’s influence screams in my brain the whole time, “You spelled that word wrong!” or worse, “If you don’t fix it now, you’ll overlook it later.” I think I had a lot more fun writing before I started relying on myself to edit. Something in me makes me need to edit as I go. Not want. Need. A red underline may as well be flashing and yelling at me. I can’t go past it without correcting it. It’s a distraction, really. It takes away from my creative process in a huge way. And don’t get me started on how I now need to switch from MLA to APA, which may as well be an entirely different ‘language’ as far as my thumbs are concerned.
Wow, that was an old post! Thanks for the shout-out.
John, I always say the same thing — you can’t fix what doesn’t exist.
Jason, to answer your question, I don’t think I edit while I go, but I write quite clean. I fix typos as I go but it’s such a habit from email and everything else that it doesn’t stall my writing — it’s just how I do it. I didn’t realize that wasn’t how everyone writes until I started hanging out on the forums with other writers.
I self-edit as I go, it’s just how I roll. Do I nitpick over small things? No. I know I can change them later but I die a little inside every time I see an obvious typo that makes it past my internal editor after it goes live.
At Ermas, I try to let the writer be responsible for their work but the editor hat comes on if/when I see something that needs to be tweaked or asked for an opinion. Then I edit gently and stare at the writer until they.stop.doing.it.