Editing. It’s a Thing

Spent the hours I allot to the conference work the past few days mostly chipping away at details and then crunching the data for the fashion show.

Found some errors, made some, fixed some.  All of them.  I hope.

Managed to keep the fashion show 'program' to two sheets of paper which will get folded in half to make a small booklet.

The fashion show is a modified 'tea room' style.  People entering items into the fashion show are to model themselves, or provide models.  They will carry the number of their position in the line up while I read the commentary and the audience will be encouraged to talk to the makers to discuss the garments after the show is over.

Just another way we are hoping to encourage people to socialize, connect, come together. Confluences.

My desk is messy.  I actually got a lower grade in 'Office Practices' from my teacher because she observed that my desk in class was always messy.  She said it would have been higher if I would just learn to be more organized.

Yes, Mrs. Pitchko, it was messy and I thank you for your class where I learned a great deal about typing/editing, double entry bookkeeping, how to plan large projects, proof read and format large documents, leaving white space and spacing for ease of reading.

But yes, my desk was 'messy' - and it still is.

Without your class, writing numerous magazine articles, preparing workshop handouts and self publishing not one, but two, books would have been a lot harder.  So I will take that C and thank you for your class.

I thank all the typing teachers that came before Mrs. Pitchko and also my English teachers, especially Mrs. Dallamore who taught us how to read for editorial bias and to think about what was being said and how the writer was trying to influence how we thought about a topic.  I learned that editorial bias didn't just live in editorials, but in all forms of communication.  I learned about focusing on what needed to be said, and how I needed to say it.  More proof reading and editing, typos and so on.

I try to explain to my Olds students how important communication is and encourage those who are not confident writers to take classes if they can.  No matter how many people in our audience, good communication is required if we are to pass on the knowledge of the craft - be that verbal, visual or written.

So yes, editing is a thing.  A very important thing.