Showing posts with label polishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label polishing. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2012
Polishing
*Climbing aboard the rum barrel, tankard in hand, partly
snookered…to rant.
Exactly what the hell does polishing mean? Honestly?
If you’re talking about silver it’s a pain in the ass
process involving smelly compounds, gloves and getting crap stuck in your
fingernails. (Even with the gloves on.)
If it’s jewelry, it’s about finding one of those bloody
polishing clothes, giving up, going out and buying another one, using it, then
finding the six other ones you have.
If it’s a book you’re written? I don’t have a bloody idea. I
mean, what is the difference between copy editing, where one removes all the
overused words, like sigh, nod, grin, turn…and all. And you correct the over
fondness for ellipses, or M dashes or exclamation points or whatever little pet
trick slips into a MS. You make sure you didn’t change the name of the heroine,
hero, villain, ship, city…or how it’s spelled…
This is copyediting, right?
RIGHT?
Polishing for genre? Well, if you’re smart, you already know
the basics of your genre so you started out writing to fit those places of
sparkle and shine. As for tweaking to satisfy editor/publisher/agent
nuances…it’s insane. They are constantly changing. Might as well take aim at a
speedy hummingbird with a peashooter.
Sure, there are format things that you can make certain of.
But can you polish a MS for a specific audience? I mean polish means it’s done.
The basic form is locked in, it’s a shape. A spoon, a broche, a teapot. You
can’t just…polish to something else!
Me? I just don’t know what the hell to do anymore. I’m
advised to polish before hitting that send button. Well, crap. It’s as polished
as it’s gonna get without some specific guidelines from someone who sees past
the bits of tarnish to the potential. I can’t polish to everyone’s taste! And
I’ve lost the ability to figure out what anyone wants. I know what I want. To
have fun.
Besides, some people like that bit of black behind the gem
to offset the metal’s gleam. Some want it to be blindingly sparkly to the point
of no real definition to the piece.
I CAN’T DO IT!
*Falls off rum barrel and staggers over to the bar to refill
tankard.
Deep breath.
I don’t know what
polish means anymore. What does it mean to you?
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