Rambling Thoughts After the First Round of Edits

 I know, there's a proper name for this phase of my editing process, but I'll leave that to the academics; I'm a writer.

Yesterday morning I set aside my red pen and orange and yellow highlighters.  What was left behind?  A manuscript littered with notes, mark-outs, circles, and, of course, highlighted passages.  The manuscript is a first rate mess and I can't wait to clean it up.

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I think a lot of people like to utilize YouTube for a little help with projects like changing out ball joints on a 2016 Subaru Forester, or how to change the battery in a 2019 Indian Roadmaster.  I also like to use it to stay focused while maybe picking up on a few things here and there.

Part of my daily writing routine is to watch a random Booktuber.  Sometimes the video is a complete miss, other times there are little nuggets of golden information, lessons to tuck away into my writing toolbox, and even, like this morning, I stumble on a creator worth following (Ginger's Creative Corner).

The most disappointing of those are the one's that exist for only one purpose; to sell you their product.  Don't get me wrong, I think all of us are here in the online atmosphere to sell something.  (Buy my books!)  The part that turns me away is when these creators pitch a thought process that is wrapped around a middle of the video hard sell of a product that will help the viewer with the very thing they are discussing. It happens in a way that screams they are interested in helping you, if you choose to buy their stuff!

I see this a lot from the freelance editing community.  They present themselves as your peers in the writing community, yet in reality, they view themselves as above you and if you want to improve, you must hire them to edit your pathetic attempt at a story.  There is typically an element of discouragement.  A lot of times you catch it in the titles, "Your Cover Design is Wrong!".  (that one coming from a publisher wanting to sell his services)

Some of it is phishing for that sweet spot within the algorithm that drives traffic.  We all know, two things sell, sex and negativity, and writing just isn't sexy (to most, at least).  So, telling the writer how bad they are in the title and even in the content of the video, brings viewers.  It also discourages new writers, whether that is the intention of the creator is left for another discussion.

I take issue with this approach (obviously). Why brow beat authors with a title like "7 Cringey MISTAKES Writers Make With MALE Characters".  The title immediately implies that you, the writer, are writing cringeworthy characters.  And really, the tone of the video does kind of reflect this (at least the short bit I watched).  The purpose of the video is made clear, five minutes in, with a forty-five second sales pitch.  Can't the title and overall tone of the video be more like what the video creator is pushing the hard sell on "How to Write Realistic Men and Women".  

I feel the writing community, overall, should be encouraging, and in some cases, a little more humble.  My way of doing things is, well, my way of doing things.  It works for me, and I'm more than willing to share, but I'm not going to tell you that what you're doing is wrong.

Writing is full of guide wires that can be pushed a bit here and there, and if you bend that guide wire with intent, the result just may be golden.