Word of the Week #179:
When I was just beginning editing—as well as just before—I spoke to a few others who had done that before me, just to get a sense of the path that lay ahead.
A lot of the negatives I heard were all the same: It is a dead-end job that gets real annoying real fast.
And I did not hear any positives whatsoever.
Regardless, I needed the money, so I took the job…
I remember I wrote in my application that I hoped the job would help me grow as a writer and as a human. Now, of course, those were hopes, so I did not really lie, but I did not expect that to actually happen.
It has been five months since I began. Let us take a quick look at how I feel about the job so far.
First, with respect to the technical part of writing including the nitty-gritty of punctuation and grammatical conventions, I have already grown significantly. However, that was well within the realm of expectation, so I don’t make of that.
I have also learned a lot about the creative aspect of writing. Watching the mistakes others make in their stories and analysing the consequences can be a learning experience.
This analysis helped me understand why I never liked James Bond movies. The titular character never grows or evolves, either within or across movies. His experiences never truly change him. The consequences of the events in the movies lose impact when you never see even the characters in the thick of things be completely unaffected by them.
Some bombs will explode, some vehicles will be destroyed, some women will be bedded, some people will be killed, some crises will be averted, and at the end of it all, things will go back to the way they were. Then what is the point of the story? To show a man ensuring nothing ever changes? I don’t get it.
Well, anyway… It has made me improve as a writer.
In addition to this, I have had a chance to edit a large number of self-help books, and the advice held within them has already affected me.
One book taught me how to improve my credit score. So I did.
One book taught me how to make my work outs more effective and efficient. So I did.
One book taught me how to acquire and hone certain skills I might need. So I did.
One book taught me how humans with potential may squander their gifts. So, well, this one I did not.
You get the overall point, right?
Now, I am NOT the guy who would choose to read a book about finance. But I do need financial advice, and probably for that very reason.
Already, I feel like I have improved as a person as well.
And, yes, it can be tedious at times, but what doesn’t, right? LIFE can be tedious, but we can’t just skip to the good parts, right? This isn’t an Adam Sandler movie, after all.
When life gives you lemons, don’t whine about how bitter the skin is.
When life gives you lemons, squeeze them dry, and add some browned garlic butter, rosemary, rock salt and black pepper, and you have a simple but delicious sauce.
Advertisements
