Editing Ourselves

Editing doesn’t always require a red pen. It doesn’t mean that the results will always be an error-free product. Editing, to me, doesn’t always mean marked up paper, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors.

In the past, former classmates have edited outside the norm, like motion pictures with Neil Babaluk, entire countries with Stacia Franz, and our management of time with Kim Lawson.

I thought about how we edit ourselves, whether it is biting our tongues instead of lashing out on our mothers, sisters, or brothers during an argument, erasing and re-writing one sentence in our emails or IMs multiple times before sending something completely different, or backpedaling and attempting to change the meaning of something we said, after we said it.

Our job as editors (of print and online media) is to fix mistakes, avoid portraying information incorrectly, and fairly represent our stories. On a larger scale, we also edit ourselves before offending, before saying something we probably shouldn’t, or after, we try to make a correction to our previous statements.  

Will making these changes to ourselves make us better, more perfect drafts of people? I don't think that stopping ourselves from saying something rude when we really want to say it, is a bad thing. But I think there is a time and a place for these edits, which is something that I think I have always struggled with. I tend to think that a lot things are better left unsaid and am always amazed and almost in awe of people who can say whatever they want, whenever they want.

I can't speak for those people and whether they experience an inner battle, like I often do. But it reminds me of a scene in You've Got Mail, when Tom Hanks is confessing to Meg Ryan that he often wished he could edit the words that come out of his mouth, whereas she said she wished she could have the courage and proper timing to say exactly what she was thinking to people.

Joe Fox: [talking via email to "Shopgirl"] Do you ever feel you've become the worst version of yourself? That a Pandora's box of all the secret, hateful parts - your arrogance, your spite, your condescension - has sprung open? Someone upsets you and instead of smiling and walking away, you zing them? "Hello, it's Mr Nasty." I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about. 

Kathleen Kelly: [talking via email to "NY152"] No, I know exactly what you mean, and I'm completely jealous. What happens to me when I'm provoked is that I get tongue-tied and my mind goes blank. Then I spend all night tossing and turning trying to figure out what I should have said. What should I have said, for example, to a bottom dweller who recently belittled my existence? 

[stops and thinks] 

Kathleen Kelly: Nothing. Even now, days later, I can't figure it out. 

Joe Fox: Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could pass all my zingers to you? And then I would never behave badly and you could behave badly all the time, and we'd both be happy. But then, on the other hand, I must warn you that when you finally have the pleasure of saying the thing you mean to say at the moment you mean to say it, remorse inevitably follows.