Peg Herring's Blog - Posts Tagged "style"
Answers Will Vary
My mother, an elementary teacher, once had a student hand in homework that stymied her for a few moments. All the true-false, multiple choice, and short answer responses were correct, but all the essay questions were answered with the phrase "Answers will vary." She finally figured out that during recess, while she was on hall duty, the kid had swiped her teacher's edition from the desk, copied what was written there onto his paper, and then put the book back.
What I've been thinking of as I edit my friend MS is that although she doesn't write like I do, she writes very well. I'm sure when she reads my work, she notices differences in things like sentence structure, syntax, and character development. What's nice about our arrangement is we've both got a reader who can acknowledge that different isn't necessarily inferior. I suppose that's the tough part of editing, not trying to turn every author into a clone of what the editor thinks is good writing. It all adds up to style, and when an author's got it, I'm okay with it. "Answers will vary".
What I've been thinking of as I edit my friend MS is that although she doesn't write like I do, she writes very well. I'm sure when she reads my work, she notices differences in things like sentence structure, syntax, and character development. What's nice about our arrangement is we've both got a reader who can acknowledge that different isn't necessarily inferior. I suppose that's the tough part of editing, not trying to turn every author into a clone of what the editor thinks is good writing. It all adds up to style, and when an author's got it, I'm okay with it. "Answers will vary".
What in the World Are You Wearing?
The other day in Wal-Mart we saw a guy who'd decided, for no reason I can imagine, to tie a colorful bandana around his leg, just below where his shorts ended. Unless he was recreating some war-time image, maybe the spirit of MaryJane in '67, I didn't get it.
I am all in favor of accessories, but I can't get into scarves. I have tried wearing them, and I always feel like I've got this extraneous piece that needs to be removed, like I'm wearing a coat in the house. Others I see wearing billowy, nubby, silky, or even fringed scarves look classy and sophisticated. When I try it, I just look uncomfortable. (This isn't just a feeling; the few times I've tried it, people tell me I look that way.)
Pyschological? Probably. But it doesn't change the fact that when a person feels odd, she is likely to act oddly. The end does not justify the effort.
So back to the guy at Wal-Mart. Yeah, it looked weird to me, but at least he isn't hung up on some image of himself that can't move forward with the times. He's out there, experimenting.
Or maybe he's just out there.
I am all in favor of accessories, but I can't get into scarves. I have tried wearing them, and I always feel like I've got this extraneous piece that needs to be removed, like I'm wearing a coat in the house. Others I see wearing billowy, nubby, silky, or even fringed scarves look classy and sophisticated. When I try it, I just look uncomfortable. (This isn't just a feeling; the few times I've tried it, people tell me I look that way.)
Pyschological? Probably. But it doesn't change the fact that when a person feels odd, she is likely to act oddly. The end does not justify the effort.
So back to the guy at Wal-Mart. Yeah, it looked weird to me, but at least he isn't hung up on some image of himself that can't move forward with the times. He's out there, experimenting.
Or maybe he's just out there.
