FANTASY

Writing is a process of encoding the story that you are trying to tell into words. As long as the story is in the forefront of your mind, you are apt to read what you meant to write. That does not help the rest of us who have never heard the story in your head. We are seeing the story for the first time after you have polished the typing on the page. Putting the story aside and reading it later allows you to see what we are going to actually read.

Having the chance to clear up the story, so that the writing does not get in the way of the storytelling, is worth the extra time. Does your story still make sense when you read it a week later? Is the story everything that you remember writing? It is said that you never get a second chance at a first impression. You will find that this is also true in writing.

I am of the impression that you are writing with the intent of having your story made widely available to the reading public. Eventually, you will need the services of a good editor. It is never too soon to get into the good practice of editing your own works for the big problems so that the editor can spend time helping you with the small problems. You will be standing in line with a collection of other writers when your story goes off to see the editor. Your story will never get a second chance at a first impression.

There is very little writing that has to go to press so quickly that it cannot get some sleep on your hard disk drive and get a workout with your editing skills before it has to go public. If you are writing something that important, then you really need to have several sets of eyes look through the text on its way to the offset press. You will have a reputation with editors and your audience to protect as you grow in your writing. Do not be afraid to admit that anything can be improved. Your creations will be better for the effort that you invest in them.