Changing Things Up

It's not a bad thing

A friend of mine wrote a book and she asked me to edit it for her.  Of course, I'm just the friend who loves grammar and words and punctuation who wanted to help.  There will still be a real editor once her book is bought and prepared to market.  But it's a great book, and I enjoyed being the first outside her family to get to read it.  And it's an experience that brought me a blog post!

I'm guessing most of us have had to write something over the years.  A school paper, a memo for work, a professional email...something that needed to be written well and, therefore, edited.  There are several key elements to editing.  Some are simple, some are more complex.

Punctuation - periods, commas, colons, semicolons, quotation marks, parenthesis - Each of these tiny marks represent a different pause in the sentence.  Sometimes a sentence is too short and needs a comma to link it to the next thought.  Other times, a sentence runs on and needs a period or semicolon to create a break.

Grammar - there, their, they're/your, you're/to, too, two - These are grammar mistakes.  Using the wrong word can create confusion (or make you look uneducated).  There are also grammatical options of utilizing better words in place of others.  For instance, saying uneducated instead of idiot.  Or utilize instead of use.  More often, it means choosing a word that will convey a deeper meaning so the reader understands exactly what the author is feeling.  Saying devastated instead of sad, appreciative instead of grateful.  Words have great power and writers have the responsibility to implement the best ones possible.

Misspelled words - In a world of autocorrect, this should be a no-brainer.  (However, we all know autocorrect also has a mind of its own.)  Readers often are left with the assumption that a writer who overlooked a misspelled word is either careless or lazy.  Neither of those are qualities writer want to convey.  Of all the editing faux pas, this is probably the least forgivable because it's the most avoidable.

Reworking the sentence - Every good editor wants to help the writer be the best they can be.  When creative juices are flowing, sometimes you just have to get the words out and worry about making it cleaner at a later time. Sometimes it's deleting unnecessary words or replacing a word with something better.  Other times, it's a matter of rearranging words.  It's amazing what moving one word in a sentence can do to improve the whole thought.  An example would be:  She had wanted a pony always  VS  She had always wanted a pony.  It can be a matter of sentence flow or a matter of clarity.  Either way, reworking can be monumental to a thought or idea.

Content- After you've written it all, does it matter?  Did you really say anything?  Will the reader have a positive reaction?  Will they understand your intent?  Were you clear and concise?  Do you need to start over or strengthen your ending?

So what does all this have to do with a blog that usually points you toward Jesus?  I'm glad you asked! Our lives are pages in a book, in which God is the Author.  As our Father and Creator, He is taking the time to shape us into the masterpiece He knows we can be.  What might that look like?

Punctuation - Many times in our lives, we've put the wrong punctuation.  We put a period where there should have been a comma.  We didn't allow a pause, but simply ended something that could have continued.  Things that could have been reconciled were turned away from because of a period.  Other times, we have placed a comma where there should have been a very bold period.  What we allowed to continue should have been stopped a long time ago.  Maybe we needed more question marks, more exclamation points.  God can edit those areas and help us to put in the proper responses to whatever we are going through.

Grammar - I see a lot of people using the wrong word to describe themselves. They get a word stuck in their head and then use it repeatedly.  For some, it's "worry."  For others, it's "success."  "Need," "more,"  "someday," "never," "ugly," "bitter," a constant string of the same word that defines them.  God wants to upgrade those words to something else; choosing a "new" word for those who "knew" better, but didn't know how to do it themselves.

Misspelled words - If misspelled words make a writer look careless or lazy on paper, errors in life do the same thing.  We are a people who want easy.  If there was an autocorrect for decisions, there would be a lot of us walking around living exactly like one another.  That's the lazy way!  We need to carefully choose our behavior.  They are the actions to our words that others will know us by.  God is wonderfully gifted at guiding us to the right answer if we will look to Him instead of looking for the easy way.

Reworking a sentence - Do you ever find yourself in a rut?  Like you just aren't motivated or productive?  You're going through the motions, focused on getting the work of life done, but it's not clean.  God likes reworking lives to make them cleaner.  Sometimes He deletes things that are unnecessary.  Sometimes He adds things that are missing.  Sometimes He just moves things around a bit to give our life a fresh outlook.  Reworking our lives for our good and the good of others is exactly His desire.

Content - As you walk through this world, do you ever contemplate the story your life is telling?  Is it productive?  Is it bringing a positive influence to others?  Is it clear or confusing?  Is there purpose?  If you are saying no to any of these questions, you might want to ask God to start editing.

We are not just characters in a story.  We are the writers of our lives, as we walk in free will.  But we have a God Who has equipped us with His presence, wanting to edit out the bad and edit in the good that we cannot do ourselves.  Any person can walk through this life alone, writing whatever chapters they want for themselves.  But it is the person who turns to the Father, the true Author of all creation, who finds the most exuberant, fulfilling, satisfying life.  It is not in things or experiences that this is found, but in knowing that the edits He makes for us ultimately lead us to love Him even more.