This past weekend I took an editing course at the University of Guelph. It was put on by the Editor's Association of Canada (EAC). I've taken courses with them in the past and have found them both interesting and useful, this one especially.
It's always interesting to have a group of like-minded individuals come together to learn more about a topic they enjoy, and in this instance it was no different. Well except for the fact that I knew a lot of what was being taught. I knew the standardized editor's marks, I even knew where all the commas should go in a closed sentence style of writing! In all the exercises we did, I knew what I was doing, I just didn't know the principles behind them.
How encouraging! I'm not the big fraud that I thought I was! I actually had more experience than most people attending the course, and especially more experience than the lady who sat next to me for the day. I felt sorry for her, since she was just starting out on this editing adventure. She appeared to be quite lost when it came to most editing functions. She struggled through the fast paced grammar lessons that even left me working hard to keep up. Hopefully she's not too discouraged by the whole process, since she seemed like a nice woman.
EAC always puts on a great seminar/course. Fully catered, these sessions are jam packed with information, handouts and exercises, but also food. Coffee breaks come complete with trays of pastries, big carafes of coffee and hot water for tea. Lunch time brings numerous platters of various sandwiches, oversized cookies and more drinks, with a second coffee break mid-afternoon bringing more of the same.
Instructors are always knowledgeable, real world editors who work hard at what they do, and do it very well. This instructor, Kathryn Dean, has edited work for Robert Bateman, Mordecai Richler and Pierre Trudeau and her first edited work was a history of the Hudson's Bay Company. Besides being my namesake, she was also a fascinating woman, a bit scatterbrained at first glance, but intriguing nonetheless. We danced through many pages of rules, annecdotes, quotes, quips and exercises, all in a relatively pain free manner. The only thing that would have made the day better was if it had poured rain instead of being gloriously warm and sunny.
For the first time, in at least three years, I have homework that I must tackle. Surprisingly, I'm really looking forward to tackling it this week!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
A friend pointed out the other day how lucky we are to have been born into the English language.
I couldn't agree more.
Although having English as my native tongue allows me certain pleasures, such as laughing at the following: (Courtesy Anguished English by Richard Lederer).
Detour sign in Kyushi, Japan: Stop: Drive Sideways.
In a Belgrade hotel elevator: To move the cabin, push button forwishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by national order.
In a Bangkok dry cleaner's: Drop your trousers here for best results.
Grammar is the one thing someone learning English has an advantage in. They learn everything the proper way.
I couldn't agree more.
Although having English as my native tongue allows me certain pleasures, such as laughing at the following: (Courtesy Anguished English by Richard Lederer).
Detour sign in Kyushi, Japan: Stop: Drive Sideways.
In a Belgrade hotel elevator: To move the cabin, push button forwishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by national order.
In a Bangkok dry cleaner's: Drop your trousers here for best results.
Grammar is the one thing someone learning English has an advantage in. They learn everything the proper way.
Pro vs pro
As I sit here sanity is being pulled from me at an alarmingly fast rate.
Articles pour in, some are great, most are not.
After several suggested revisions and multiple attempts to hand hold, one has mashed and mangled sentences, while several paragraphs and quotes - in an already short piece - are repetitious.
Where is the thrill of the story? If I don't care to read it, will the audience?
The only bright light is that, with a few hours of work, anything is better than what is currently on screen.
Another piece also raises eyebrows. The submitted tome is questionable and leaves me fearing copyright infringement.
After discussion, the light is still not seen and since it is already too late to reject it, the only solution is to fix the parts that are known to be wrong.
Keyword: known.
I am struggling to understand how a writing-pro and a pro-who-writes can both submit equally disastrous pieces. Given their backgrounds both should know better.
A third is finally turning around and actually seems inspired this time! Feeling glad for giving a guiding hand on this one and plan to do the same from now on. Perhaps too much freedom was a bad thing here.
Deadlines are looming and feeling under prepared.
Articles pour in, some are great, most are not.
After several suggested revisions and multiple attempts to hand hold, one has mashed and mangled sentences, while several paragraphs and quotes - in an already short piece - are repetitious.
Where is the thrill of the story? If I don't care to read it, will the audience?
The only bright light is that, with a few hours of work, anything is better than what is currently on screen.
Another piece also raises eyebrows. The submitted tome is questionable and leaves me fearing copyright infringement.
After discussion, the light is still not seen and since it is already too late to reject it, the only solution is to fix the parts that are known to be wrong.
Keyword: known.
I am struggling to understand how a writing-pro and a pro-who-writes can both submit equally disastrous pieces. Given their backgrounds both should know better.
A third is finally turning around and actually seems inspired this time! Feeling glad for giving a guiding hand on this one and plan to do the same from now on. Perhaps too much freedom was a bad thing here.
Deadlines are looming and feeling under prepared.
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