Perception and misperception

I'll admit it.  I'm a bit of a grammar snob.  Okay, more than a bit, but seriously people, if the first impression you're going to make on someone is through the written word, would you mind proofreading what you're sending out before you hit ?  The source of my ire this evening is a tweet from a popular provider of literary services, a tweet that suffered from a case of plural/apostrophe confusion.  I'm sure they're nice people, but I certainly wouldn't want my work edited by someone who gear's up for things.  

Snarking aside, there's a reason people suggest time and time and time again that your cover letter--whether for a poem, short story, article, book, or whatever--should be perfect.  This is the very first impression that people have of you and your work.  And, perception being what it is, we tend not only to favour first impressions, but also to hang on to negative first impressions.  Not what you want to be doing, especially if your intention is publication.  

So while a typo might be an oversight, the resulting misperception on the part of the reader about your grammatical prowess (and thus your overall writing abilities) is going to be difficult to change.  Take the time to carefully proofread everything you send out, otherwise you might find yourself the victim of misperception.  

Thinking about writing

We're back home, with a mountain of stuff to unpack, after having spent seven weeks at the lake, with somewhat limited Internet access; hence the dearth of posts over the last few weeks.

I'd love to say that I wrote lots, every day, but it didn't happen.  I was too busy having fun and doing stuff with the kids, and while I didn't do a lot of actual writing, I did do a lot of thinking, which got me thinking about thinking about writing.  Convoluted, I know, but there's a point here, if only a small one.

Sometimes, it's the thought that counts the most, the time spent behind the scenes before we put pen to paper and begin writing.  It's all the daydreaming, pontificating, whatever-you-want-to-call-it that we do when a character or idea is born.  It might not be present on the page that particular day, but a few scribbled notes is usually sufficient for later, for remembrance.  It's time spent exploring ideas, options, and the minutiae of a character or idea, background work, if you will, for when that character of idea is brought to life.  And it doesn't always have to happen before, but I really do think that it needs to happen to add the depth, breadth, and real-ness that our characters and ideas need.

So while this brief post, written in the midst of a seeming sea of Rubbermaid tubs begging to be unpacked, might seem only tangentially related to editing, I'm a firm believer that putting the thought into characters and ideas before editing is something truly worth thinking about.  Off now to ponder my latest project while putting away a summer's worth of clothes, toys, and other detritus.