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McAnally's (The Community Pub) => Author Craft => Topic started by: meg_evonne on May 13, 2008, 10:38:28 PM

Title: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: meg_evonne on May 13, 2008, 10:38:28 PM

My mother is an artist who works with oils.  For years I would visit her and on her eisel would be her last work--usually if I was catching her towards the end of the painting, she puts it on there upside down.  When queried, she replied, "You see things you wouldn't otherwise."  I fear I tended to shake my head and think she was losing it.

Then I tried the same technique while I was editing.  I took the six pages I wanted as perfect as possible and for some reason, I started with the last paragraph and worked backwards through it.  Hey, don't laugh it worked and it was easy!

Anyone else tried that?  Or wants to try it now and tell me how it worked out? 

Title: Re: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: Murphy's Stunt Double on May 13, 2008, 10:40:07 PM

Details... Sentence by sentence or paragraph by paragraph? And were you looking for grammar and punctuation or readability?

*is interested*

Title: Re: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: meg_evonne on May 13, 2008, 10:58:37 PM

everything.  I wanted to sharpen the focus, remove floxum, correct grammar, re-organize.  It was all a lot easier to see working backwards.  I worked paragraph by paragraph. 

Title: Re: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: Pinky Narfanek on May 14, 2008, 12:56:15 AM

It jumbles the expectations.  Since you don't have the framework of the preceding information, you're better able to focus on the bit in front of you.

I use that trick when checking paragraphs for spelling (at work--unfortunately y'all are left with my actual capabilities in my off hours).  I read the sentence backwards.  It allows you to see the actual word and not what you're expecting to see.

Title: Re: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: Hasufin on May 14, 2008, 05:31:20 AM

I was taught that trick back in art classes. I've never consciously done it in my actual work, but I do usually start my editing from the bottom since that's where I am when I'm ready to edit.

Title: Re: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh on May 14, 2008, 03:23:42 PM

There are some things it's fine for, definitely.

Thing is, most of what I need to catch on my second passes is continuity stuff, particularly of when information comes in and how it changes things and what people know.  Doing that in reverse order would be like unscrambling an egg.

Title: Re: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: kingaling on May 15, 2008, 10:32:05 PM

Yup, that's how I do it. Reverse Engineering, it's called. Thank you Aristotle. you saved me a lot of headaches. I suggest googling reverse engineering plots, if anyone's interested.

Title: Re: Editing tip? Ever heard of this? It works!
Post by: MatthewD44 on May 15, 2008, 10:34:29 PM

I use that for drawing all the time. It makes it easier for me just to see the curves and lines when I am doing a portrait