Yesterday was hard - high point was saline gargle and snort to stop myself from getting the F-word's cold, and realizing that now I can drink through my nose. Much stricter editor at the job, and instead of a few green squiggles there were many red crosses across my articles. So I was in a foul mood going home, and as I did I saw a man on the pavement who I think had jumped out of a window.
It's not like in the movies because you think that he looks so normal, except with maybe three things that are really wrong. There were already people screaming into their cellphones at the emergency services, who tore around the corner as I walked past. It was odd to just walk past, but odder to not know what to do, I suppose because there was nothing to be done. No more cries for help that needed answering there.
What a world. I don't even know what's on my mind today.
4 commenti:
eesh. what a world indeed.
Wow. That's something that will put those red xs in perspective, though, isn't it?! You're going to have to grow some thick skin.
I went through the same thing at my last job. I'd hand in a chapter and I thought I had done such a thorough job of editing, it went through those stages of moving things around and everything that goes into content editing - I had read it so many times it was memorized - and then I'm told to make it clear to the client that it was a "very rough draft." As far as I was concerned it was more polished than anything I had ever written. But, of course, the problem was that I had read it so many times it wasn't seeing what was on the page and there were still many stages to the editing process to be completed - thank god I'm not involved in that part.
My point is that no matter how great a writer you are a good editor is going to tear your work to bits. There's a huge difference between being eloquent and editorial style and your writing has to be adjusted to the publisher's style. That's no reflection on you or your work ethic.
Sorry about the red crosses...a humbling experience I suppose.
So, um, you mean you walked past a man just laying dead on the pavement? I can't imagine coming across that. That's intense.
Ah, I don't mind the crosses . . . humbling but I needed it, and Sugar's right about it all.
I don't think he was dead yet because his fingers were twitching. I may have been over-reacting in any case, because when I passed the building on the way to work today I realized it was only three storeys, and the traces of where he was laying weren't big.
Posta un commento