Be Grateful You’re a Writer

I’m not volunteering for this assignment (so don’t start emailing me stuff), but sometimes people send me scholarly papers, non-fiction journal articles, scholarship applications, and essays to edit.

Gag.

Seriously, some of this is stuff is so dry I need a whole bottle of Visine just to get through the pages. I mean, how much fun is a project that you can’t you words like awesome and fan-freaking-tabulous?

When I’m done with my track changes and comments that say stuff like, “You are switching between written numbers and numerals, which is correct for your style? (Cause guys, I hate to admit it, but I don’t know jack about the official style of medical journals)” I get to open documents that I’ve created, stories full of imaginary people and situations…and sometime beautiful lush settings.

It makes me so happy to be a fiction writer. I’m always grateful to get back to my imaginary worlds, when I’ve spent a day mucking around in someone else’s reality.

So go write and be happy!

24 Comments

Kristine Asselin

October 25, 2011 at 1:03 am Reply

Yay fiction! Though I do some elementary high interest non fiction, and that’s kind of fun, too. 🙂

Jess

October 25, 2011 at 2:25 am Reply

Any critique where excited comments are considered unprofessional (that includes smiley faces, multiple exclamations points, and phrases like “OMG! Hilarious!” or “Grrrr…I hate that bastard antagonist”) would be painful for me 🙂

Marie Borthwick

October 25, 2011 at 3:02 am Reply

while i was at a community college several years ago, i actually edited papers for extra money… sometimes the students (and even teachers) didn’t have enough money so we would barter, it worked out nice and I actually liked doing it. Considering my current work ability I actually thought about doing it again… That said I do get your point, it is nice being a fiction writer and being able to use snazzy words (even make em up sometimes)!

Laura C.

October 25, 2011 at 4:24 am Reply

Yay writers!
Sometimes it can be achingly painful to slog through a first draft where nothing seems to be coming together. But nothing beats the feeling when your crit partners tell you you nailed it–and you know it’s true! Such a delightful feeling. 😀

Carrie Butler

October 25, 2011 at 7:23 pm Reply

Oh, don’t you hate that? Your eyes glaze over and you realize you’ve read the same paragraph three or four times, but you have no idea what it pertains to.

Hmm, maybe that’s what it is. When I read/write fiction, I don’t realize I’m reading. I just get lost. That’s what I love about it. 🙂

William Kendall

November 1, 2011 at 10:57 pm Reply

Oh, that’s rotten… I’ve always tried, even writing papers for class, to breathe life into it, but I’ve marked or proofed enough papers to know how dry it can get.