When editing an essay or a story, we’ll rewrite a passage, delete it, add to it, and every time we do, it’s not the same as it was before. That’s the ironic thing about working on a creative work rather than something that’s technical, such as a DIY project or a car. Creative works do not lend themselves to one right answer, whereas technical things usually do.
To get a story right, it requires multiple drafts, proofreading, and each stage does not depend on an equation or a formula, but a “sense” or “feeling” of what is right to us. In other words, we rely on our intuition and experience rather than a systematic procedure that leads to a single solution. We fix a story based on what sounds right to our ears, what makes sense in our mind, even though others might see flaws and imperfections where we see harmony and balance.
Working on a story can last for days, months, even years depending on when we’re ready to call it done. The number of things to fix continue to grow, and it seems that the editing process will never end. Even if readers tell us that the story is great, that everything works, we might not be convinced if it doesn’t meet our expectations and what our vision demands. We could go on forever fixing things even if it’s perfectly fine in everyone else’s eyes. Or we might think it’s fine when others see glaring errors or mistakes.
After we’ve finished the last draft, we have it proofread, and fix all the things that were addressed during the critique. We can be content with the published work even if readers catch minor errors or don’t agree with every aspect of the story. Besides, it can’t be perfect in everyone’s eyes.
Fallton Havenstonne 