You've heard the old saying about being your own worst critic. I'm not only my own worst critic, I'm a terrible editor of my own work. Yes, I am and I am not afraid to admit it.
It amazes me how I can pick up others' mistakes in mere moments. For years, I've proofread and edited the work of others. Much of it was detailed legal jargon that required total accuracy.
Now that I'm a writer, I can't seem to spell or put a sentence together. Have I relied too much on editors? Do I get so caught up in writing thoughts that I forget how to use essential tools along the way? Is it just easier to recognize the errors of others rather than your own?
I learned many writers can't really spell or put a proper sentence together. One of my friends reintroduced me to the world of writing a few years ago and I can never thank her enough. While I love her, she is the worst speller I ever met and she admits it. It's amazing this knowledgeable, interesting young woman can't spell five letter words. She thanks God for editors all the time.
If one of my posts is suddenly unavailable, I'm probably editing it thanks to a glaring typo or a confusing grammatical error. After all, I are a writer...oops again...
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Comments: 16
From Robert A. Heinlein:
Rule Three: You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial OrderI think we all "see" what we MEANT to write so we miss the mistakes we make :)
It's hard - but you get better at it (I hope)
he he
I have been having some problems since I had some issues(mini strokes)last spring. I have plaque in my left frontal artery. I find now I leave the r off of your and I skip or put in the wrong words or miss a word. I also find I have problems with spelling, words don't look right, so what I do is start to spell the word in the google box at the top of my screen and the correct spelling will more than likely show up. :)
I know what you mean. It's very difficult to edit one's own writing. At the time, we see what we want to see. It takes some time and distance before we can really read it with an objective eye.
I am often horrified when I go back an read something I've posted. I find it helps to read it out loud, but I still make mistakes. I often make them in comments, because I do them so quickly and don't proof them.
I know what you mean. There always seems to be a glaring error in my post the first time. I find with my wriiting I share it with a friend who is gracious enough to locate my spelling errors.
I think that is true for lots of things we are our own worse critic
my fingers get to flying so fast my brain does not register the oopses~ lol
or I am so darn tired I just don't "see" the mistakes!
Yes, you're right, you don't edit your own writing as well as you do others' because you often don't see your own mistakes, even sometimes after you've proofread it.
I type too fast for my own good and that's where my mistakes occur. I should proofread my stuff before I hit the submit button.
LOL, Yes we are our own worst critics!
I know what you mean, with all these medicines I am on there are days I just mess up so bad. I look at it again and I wonder what in the world did I write.
since I started posting online several years ago i've found I can read typos as easily as correct words lol...
I am back to PIF>>>