Short Story on Freedom Edit?

by . .
17th February 2013

If we have sent our story in, is it possible to change a few sentences?

I mean, results won't be back till March and it will only be a minor change.

Replies

I have an extremely helpful friend who will just skim read a few things for me.

Skim reading can be very useful because, if the skim stalls or grinds to a halt, it shows up that there is at least some lack of clarity.

I know only too well that one of the problems of writing is that I know what I mean. that does not indicate that anyone else will!

I once spent eight weeks struggling with a technical subject. I just could not get it to work: and I had a deadline to meet.

Probably sat in the bath it dawned on me that I had simply omitted a key element right at the start. The finished version was wroitten in a day. (This was partly because I could cut and paste a lot from the previous trials).

When I had done I had to take it to someone that didn't know a thing about the subject just to see if the English I had used made sense. I had become so close to the subject that I couldn't "see" my work any more.

Fortunately I had got it right.

Then the commisoning people changed the spec. that they wanted!

Aaaargh!

Profile picture for user david@fo_25910
David
Foster
270 points
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David Foster
17/02/2013

Okie, it was more the fact of reading over it and then wondering if the reader might not understand. But thanks both of you.

Profile picture for user alduinth_26501
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75 points
Developing your craft
. .
17/02/2013

I treat any competition as a race. I run the absolute best I can and then its over. So long as I have done my best I am not going to look back wishing that I had done something differently.

If I didn't do my best I try to work out where the faults were. As in a race there is no going back and re-doing it. I can, however, work on correcting the error in my training and work to do better next time.

Once the envelope has been sealed (only once) the tape has been crossed and that is that race done with.

Then it's time to move on.

Hope this helps.

Profile picture for user david@fo_25910
David
Foster
270 points
Developing your craft
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Historical
Speculative Fiction
Adventure
David Foster
17/02/2013