the power of editing.
Writing words onto a page, or typing them out on your laptop, is one thing. But if you’re spending time composing content that’s essentially just a stream of your consciousness - without any considered editing process - then I would hazard a guess that what you end up with in front of you is not your best writing.
Let me point out here that I don’t think it’s impossible to write well without editing, but it certainly helps. I once attended a lecture at which the guest speaker explained that the way he’d developed much of his writing ability was to force himself to write, write, and write some more... without editing. From the very beginnings of his weekly blog he set himself a hard deadline which he never failed to miss. It often meant that he didn’t have time to agonise over the finer details, but it did mean he had a weekly appointment with the “getting better” machine.
Perhaps writing masters in this realm can be excused; for fast-paced consumer journalism waits for no one. But editing is still important.
Editing allows you post-brain-dump time to reconfirm your writing’s purpose, intention and audience. Things might have evolved since you brought your thoughts together onto paper. You might have written in a hurry and missed a typo, or missed a word all together. I’m definitely guilty of that!
Editing also allows you a moment to double-check your chosen words (I refer to the dictionary at least once a day) and ensures that when you do reach a final draft, that you have a piece of writing which best reflects your abilities and your efforts to achieve the desired end result.
Editing is exercise for your brain, which is never a bad thing. It also allows you to put your best foot forward to those who’ll be reading whatever it is that you’re tapping away at.
Of course, editing something that you’ve just spent a good chunk of time writing is not always an appealing prospect. Especially if you have a deadline looming. But I consider it to be a critical part of the writing process: one that I would not skimp on when it comes to client work, or indeed my own writing. In an ideal world, editing wouldn’t happen until you’ve had a chance to let your writing sit, and your brain concentrate on other things for a bit. A fresh head does wonders! I always factor this into work that I take on for my clients. Quick turnarounds = sloppy writing. A first draft does not a quality article make. Full stop.
On that note, I’m off to do some editing. And then some proofreading: another one of my favourite things to do!