A FB Friend made a post with a link to the following article from the Paris Review:
This is very interesting!
I do a fair amount of editing and so I am always interested in new ideas about what can be a very difficult task.
I think the most important thing is to imagine the big picture and to identify the narrative and voice of the writing.
In situations where a narrative and voice does not exist I re-write the entire manuscript to my own liking. In this way I am doing much more than being an editor.
This quote from Adam Smith captures what I believe is an under appreciated aspect of editing and organizing knowledge:
Some believe that the invention of word processing has actually diminished the quality of writing and increased the need for editing. Folks can write anything quickly and with little deep thought. Often the result is a convoluted mess. The Internet takes this a step further by changing the dynamics of publishing. Poorly written accounts of ideas become available to large amounts of people before the writing is properly edited.
These observations always lead me to the conclusion that a new approach to language and writing will evolve as part of the Internet age.
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