At the very least I am able to pick out grammatical mistakes, but I don't consider myself a writer much less a decent one. So when asked to edit a friend's work, grammar is what I tend to concentrate on, mostly because I assume (and stand to be corrected) that the person who's work I am correcting is the superior writer. Meaning that if I were to attempt to help them with the more difficult and elementary problems such as voice and audience I would horribly fail.
This may very well be as a result of a system of schooling that grooms us to write informatively (generally in formal essays) cramping our creative abilities and which are then lost only to be retrieved from the grave in university. Murray is able to phrase this strange occurrence succinctly, "Many brilliant editors, teachers, and colleagues simply make the drafts they read their own. They know what they would do to the draft and how they would do it, but it may not be right for me or my writing task." (pg 201) Who knew that there is a way to read and edit so that the writer is able to keep his/her independence and style? I always seemed that whatever the teacher said was correct and that really there were always only a few ways to complete the writing task at hand.
For those of us who clearly need more of a push to articulate, this is a surprising revelation. It IS possible to have a voice that does not fit strictly into a certain category or place but rather can uniquely be called your own.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I know how you feel about reading through other people's papers. By reading this chapter I feel I have a better understanding of how to read and edit other writer's work. I really enjoy the quote from page 201.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the realization of being able to use creativity and if someone corrects your work, take it as a suggestion not a demand. This makes me feel much more open to test readers. All throughout school we were taught how to write and there seemed to be a certain style that proved to be "the best way". It is so refreshing to hear that I can still be me when I write.
ReplyDelete