If you've ever met me, you would understand my dilemma. I walk incredibly fast. So much in fact, that my husband is usually a block or two behind me when we head to dinner downtown. I eat fast. While my husband is still applying condiments to his entree, I'm already looking at the dessert menu. Even my speech is a rapid-fire barrage of words and thoughts that leave most people just smiling and nodding without the slightest clue of what I've just said.
And when I read? I'm on fire. Being an overachieving Mega-Nerd back in my college years, I would typically take 6-7 English classes a semester That amounted to having to read the equivalent of a full-length novel each day. I learned to read very quickly, glossing over filler words and focusing more on the big picture stuff. My eye for detail is non-existent.
This also explains why I'm always falling in potholes.
But I'm trying. I bought the appropriate supplies:
I also drank some red wine to help slow me down. I'm embracing deep, yoga-like breaths to help relax and center me.
I think my efforts are paying off. I fell sound asleep with our manuscript stuck to my sweaty forehead yesterday.
Slowing things down is awesome. I feel so well-rested.
Now where did I put those pens again?
wed wine kan weelly,weelly, (hic) help the ebiting pocess..or at least make it more fun lol
ReplyDeleteMBF
I will tell you a secret: I actually make extra money editing books. All I'll say is: good luck. It's really difficult to edit your own stuff. (But if anybody can do it, it's you two!)
ReplyDeleteEditing is the WORST, and wine is a MUST to get through it. I like to edit in green or purple so the pages don't look like they're bleeding at the end. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kirby -- it's very difficult to edit your own writing, but with perseverance you can do it! (P.S. I'm an editor, too. I prefer a red pencil, but sometimes I use green or blue.) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSO EXCITING! I suppose thoughts like that don't help to slow you down!
ReplyDeleteWait, uh, we are writing a book together? Do I know about it?
ReplyDeletexxo
MOV
ps-- will send chocolate to help slow you down with editing. It does not actually help with slowing down, but it helps with happy.
Looking forward to seeing what your creative sojourn with MOV has made.
ReplyDeleteI rally enjoy editing, probably more than writing. There's nothing more refreshing than looking through something you wrote a week or so ago and seeing the way it should be.
But then (shhh) I like washing up...
I edit for a living medical reports which is a bit different than editing a book, but sometimes it helps to read the words out loud slowly; you can catch a lot of things that need to be edited that way. I'm not sure though that my supervisor would like me drinking a glass of red wine while I work, but I do like your method of editing indeed!
ReplyDeleteenjoy the weekend!
betty
Hahaha - I reeeeally enjoy editing.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing the editing thing with my book when I get the chance. Not fun.
ReplyDeleteMBF
I need the opposite, something to speed up my ever expanding fat arse!
ReplyDeleteDi :-)
x
oh my gosh I read FAR too fast... and can read a book in a few hours and then have to read it again a couple of months later because I have forgotten loads of it... blurgh Love Elle xo
ReplyDeleteI find mistakes in every single blog post I do...no matter how many times I read it.
ReplyDeleteRight after I hit the publish button, I find about a dozen mistakes. I read way too fast.
I can't wait to read the book you two have put together!
Thanks all! You have once again helped me feel less alone in this process. I do believe that reading aloud is probably my best bet. It slows me down and I get a better grasp on the rhythm of a work. Appreciate all the support!
ReplyDeleteFirst a blog, now a book, I'm presuming a late night TV show is next....oh and then it's you and Donny Boy making a movie together no doubt. Keep me in mind if you need a driver or pool boy when you buy that mansion.
ReplyDeleteMBF
All I can say is I am REALLY excited about reading that book. I hope you can slow down enough to do the editing. This made me giggle. I can't count the times I have fallen asleep reading something only to wake up with it in some inconvenient place. Good luck!
ReplyDelete