Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Don't you just hate...



I don't know about anyone else, but I like to take a few minutes to myself and unwind after a long day of school or work. I have two hobbies reading and World of Warcraft. I will honestly admit that I do get a little annoyed when I get interrupted by a game of spot the screw up.

So I must share one from World of Warcraft. Enjoy.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Open packet. Eat contents.

Recently. I read an article call "So you want to be an editor" by Geoff Hart (http://www.geoff-hart.com/resources/1995-1998/wannabe.htm), and it actually made me laugh.

Since this course tends to focus on journalism and other forms of popular media, but there are many other forms of writing that require editors.

Just take a few moments to think of those good and useful instructions, (they are out there, believe me), and imagine the potentially humorous (and dangerous) job the editors had to do during the usability testing of the product.

Monday, September 13, 2010

The continuity error

Most movie buffs I know take pleasure in watching for any continuity error in the film. Often they are subtle errors that are picked up the more you watch a film. However, when they are in novels, the average person may not notice them.

The other night, I was reading The Gunslinger by Stephen King and came across one that caught me by surprise.

On the brief description of the book, a character is called “Alice,” and again on page 197, she is called “Alice;” however, in the rest of the book she is “Allie.”

For most people, it may not seem like much, but when there is almost weekly discussion on who is Ali or Allie in a group of friends with two Allisons (one Allison and the other is Alison). It kind of takes you by surprise.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

From my personal experiences with editing, I have realized that many of the skills of a good editor are important life skills:
  • Communication

The ability to communicate is a great skill which is often underappreciated by many people. Editors have to maintain excellent language skills to ensure that the information is not misinterpreted or misunderstood by the readers, but they must also ensure that they do not alienate the writers.

  • Organization

The ability to keep things organized can be extremely challenging especially when working with deadlines, large groups of people, and real life.

  • Observation

Editing is more than reading and finding errors in documents. A good editor must be able to observe a piece of writing from all perspectives.