Editing into oblivion

rich2003dm · #1 10-02-2002, 09:17 PM

Has anyone ever written a review and edited...and edited...and edited...until you finally got so sick of reading the same damned thing over and over again, that you just got disgusted and got rid of the whole thing?

Did that this week.

Took what, in retrospect, was probably a decent little essay and, through over-editing, bored myself to total disinterest with it. Had to just delete it all.

Am I the only one that anal to do this?

Does the constant re-reading of your work in the editing process eventually convince you that the piece is boring and doesn't deserve to be posted?

Rich

(Hmmmm! Should I edit this post before I submit it? Nah!)

**Joubert**[$] · #2 10-02-2002, 09:24 PM

One of the writer folk will come back with the actual quote and reference, but I always liked the adage, "The difficult thing isn't writing, but editing."

theeye · #3 10-02-2002, 09:53 PM

Rich,

We all knew you were a pervert. But I didn't realize you were worse than that.

You're a tease.

You wrote a 'decent little essay' -- yeah, right: Rich's idea of a 'decent little essay' is my idea of a really great read -- and posted it and then threw it away?

And you have the gall to come here and tell us about it?

Harumph.

I'm going to be watching your profile page. I expect you to reconstruct that essay and repost it. Pronto.

I'm giving you 24 hours.

Then I start dismantling patio furniture.

rich2003dm · #4 10-02-2002, 10:10 PM

Thanks for the kind words, eye.

The essay wasn't really up to my standards, and I'm pretty easy to please.

I can sit and stare quite happily at shiny objects for hours without getting bored. Watching paint dry is like a Super Bowl game for me. I've been reading the same newspaper since 1983 (my last good year).

If it bored me, it had to be pretty bad.

Rich

theeye · #5 10-02-2002, 10:51 PM

Hmmm.

For the record, I am not fooled at all.

But I like you so much that I will let you get away with this just this once.

But don't make a habit of it.

lyagushka · #6 10-03-2002, 08:16 AM

On occassion something similar happens to me. I have a handful of reviews in terminal draft mode. I've put too much effort into them to throw them away, but everytime I try to edit them I end up frustrated and unsatisfied with the results. This usually happens when I'm trying to review a book I really, really like. In that sort of situation, I want the review to make people understand how overwhelmingly excellent the book is. And I never think my review is going to accomplish that.

So the reviews languish in draft mode until a really rainy, boring day comes along, maybe.