Tomorrow, I will be going out on a metaphorical road that I rarely travel. I will be temporarily abandoning the world of fiction, a world that I love, and delve into the world of technical writing. But, with a creative twist! I am helping out a friend, who also happens to be the head-of-it-all at Grit City Publications, by editing a handbook he is writing. Due to be roughly 150 pages, the first round of editing will be purely about the bigger picture. I'll need to read carefully for content and be prepared to ask a lot of questions. Because this handbook will be geared toward creative writers, I also have to make sure that the non-technical area of this world can easily follow it. Basically, I have to make sure that I would be able to use it myself. Sounds easy, right?
For me, this is going to be difficult. Even when I edit for content with Grit City, I tend to line edit at the same time. I could be classified as a nit-picker by some. Personally, I just think that I'm thorough. Even if the line I edit eventually gets cut, at least we knew it was a properly worded and grammatically correct line! For this one, because of the length of the piece and the short amount of time I have available to work on it, I can't do that. I have to remain focused on what the words are saying, not on the words themselves. At least for the first round. Round two will be correcting the little things. I might even go as far as to write on the back of my hand (where I can easily see it) BIGGER PICTURE to remind myself.
Wish me luck!
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