Friday, May 3, 2013

All Writers Need an Editor


Tonight, my daughter and wife arrived home from the movie theater. My daughter curled up next to me on the couch, where I was writing, and ensconced herself in my blanket.

"What are you doing daddy?" she asked

"Writing in my blog" I answered, enjoying the warmth and love.

"What's a blog?"

"It's like a journal" My wife answered as she entered the living room and sat down beside us.

"Would you like me to read some of what I've written?" I asked my daughter.

"Sure." said my daughter lacking certainty. It was evident that not all of what we were saying was sinking in for my seven year old.

So I began reading some of my blog entries. I searched for ones that involved my daughter somehow. Both my wife and daughter seemed to enjoy my stories, as I recounted some interaction with my daughter that I found amusing or worth writing about. As I read, I wondered if the stories I wrote, showing my daughter's growth impressed my wife as insightful...

"Daddy" My daughter said, bringing me back to the here and now, "Annabelle, who's Annabelle?"

"What?" I asked, puzzled.

"There wasn't anyone named Annabelle in my class" replied my daughter.

In my story, I had recounted something that my daughter had said about a classmate named Annabelle.

"You told me your classmate was named Annabelle" I countered, feeling a bit defensive.

"I don't know anyone named Annabelle." she said. "Do you mean Analise?"

"uh..."

"Yea, it must be Analise you meant, honey." Added my wife, entering the conversation.

"Oh. Ok." I said and I continued reading the story.

"You have to change it." Said my daughter, stopping me. She pointed to the words on the screen of my laptop. "You have to fix it."

"Uh..." I began. "OK. Sure."

I dutifully edited out Annabelle's existence and replaced her with Analise. Satisfied, we continued on. I finished the story.

"What is 'The Easter Bunny is a Vegetarian' about?" Asked my wife. She was reading the stories herself. I jumped at the implied offer and began reading the story of when my daughter was planting Sun Flower Seeds with my wife for Easter.

"They were carrot seeds, not sun flower seeds." Corrected my daughter.

"What?" I stopped reading and stared at my daughter.

"Pays to have an editor." Added my wife with a laugh.

(Taken from my blog http://apseudoswede.blogspot.com)

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