I’ve been pretty busy lately with editing, both for clients and myself. One of the authors I work with said something to me that got me thinking.
Commas and hyphens are the minions of Satan. I’ll never figure out how to use them.
Anyone who knows me knows math is the bane of my existence. Higher math, that is. I had a summer job as a bank teller (two years), so I can add and subtract with the best of them. (Go ahead and laugh; I know that’s pretty pathetic.) But give me a word problem with logs, imaginary numbers, and cosines? Forget it. I’d rather watch paint dry. I’d be done faster that way. (And I’d have freshly painted walls, so that’s a plus.)
Grammar, though? Easy peasy.
I’ll never swear I know every rule, and I know I make mistakes (who among us doesn’t?), but something about sentence construction and punctuation just clicks in my head. I don’t know that I “memorized” the rules. I just find complying with many of them to be easy for me. (Certainly easier than trigonometry or calculus, anyway.)
When I talked with the aforementioned author, I told her this:
Grammar is a skill anyone can master, but creativity can’t be taught. That’s a gift—one that should be nurtured, honed, and shared.
As a writer, I hope I have that gift. As an editor, I can tell you that poorly-written work can be polished (even though sometimes it’s really hard to get from draft to release-worthy), but poorly-conceived storylines can’t be saved. Not easily, anyway. Yes, developmental editors can show an author where the holes are and how to fill them in, but often by the time that work is done, it’s a different story.
There is a reason that quote is so popular in our profession. To edit sober is to turn off the flights of fancy and ruthlessly shape the imagination’s triumphs into a stable and recognizable form. To write drunk is to write with abandon, to be open to new ideas and unexplored paths. In short, to be creative.
And if you enjoy a glass of wine or a shot of whiskey while you’re doing that, well, who could blame you?
Inspired by the WordPress daily prompt: Memorize.Â
Great post, again, Staci. Math has never been difficult for me, but I do find in my work a misplaced comma or two. They are so much easier to find in the work of others.
If I were to partake, my beverage of choice would be a Guinness at room temperature.
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Thanks, Michele. You’re quite right—comma problems (or any errors, really) are so much easier to find in someone else’s work than our own.
Enjoy your Guinness!
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“Commas and hyphens are the minions of Satan. I’ll never figure out how to use them.” You too? LOL!
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When my client said that to me, I had a good laugh. To me, Satan’s minions come in the form of trig functions. Commas and hyphens don’t give me trouble.
To each his own, I guess.
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Math and I don’t like each other much!
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A friend of mine sent this to me a few years ago. It sums up the way I do math. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/265782815479454126/
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Commas. Ugh! Just when I think I understand them, I plummet back to square one.
Grammar has never been my forte (or higher math), which is why it’s so crucial to have editors hone our work. And just for the record, you rock both the creativity side and the structural side.
This was an excellent and entertaining post.
A pox on the minions!
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Aw, thanks, Mae. That’s one heck of a compliment! You know the feeling’s mutual.
And I agree—a pox on the minions!
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😀
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You have that creativity gene, never worry about that.
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Wow. Thanks, Craig. I appreciate that. Especially coming from a creative genius like you.
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Ask yourself if the genius is me, or does it come from the bottle?
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I try not to ponder philosophical questions too much… I might find I don’t like the answers!
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Hmm, I knew there was a reason I drank! Kidding, maybe 🙂
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LOL! 🤣
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Hmmmmm. This unidentified author of yours sounds like she thinks the same way I do. Minions, indeed. 😀 Fun post, Staci, and one that gives me hope, as well! 😉
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That author gave me a lot of grins this week. That was only one of them.
And there’s always hope!
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Minions of Satan – I like that.
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It gave me a chuckle, too. 🙂
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