editing your piece after critique - Writers Forum

ash somers · 04-15-2008, 03:09 AM

i'm interested to know what others think

about werk that's posted and the edit process

i get really annoyed when the original is changed
and there's no way of knowing what was there before

i think it's very helpful to track all changes transparently
especially for younger aspiring writers who maybe watching

i would really appreciate the original being left as it was posted
with any alterations being posted there after as progressive posts

so, what do you think, am i being unreasonably anal, or do you agree >?

ShabookiSkittles · 04-15-2008, 08:21 AM

I never really put much thought to it before but that is an excellent point. I really should begin leaving the original poems inside of my posts. Thank you ash.

Noirllyn · 04-15-2008, 10:45 AM

I think it's very important to leave the first post as is. You've got a bunch of different eyes looking at the thing--what if you wind up nixing the one thing really going for the poem because nobody understood it the way you put it? A lot of times, revisions make things worse, at least in part.

If you really want peoples' help, let them all have the whole body to pull apart and beat the bejesus out of with you.

Ilasir Maroa · 04-15-2008, 08:07 PM

I'm very haphazard about this. Sometimes I add the new version to the OP, sometimes I delete the old one, and sometimes I put revisions in later posts. Personally, I think you should leave the original, but add the edit to the OP, because, in my experience, many people are too lazy to read through the entire thread to find the revision.

Pale Gallery · 04-27-2008, 01:09 PM

Ilasir? So put every edit underneath the original? Not sure about that.

The crits are just something to take into account for when writing your next poem. If you edit to their specs, it's partly their poem.
Why does the poem need to be perfect anyway? As if a publisher will come along and go "We've found our guy!"

Leave it and if you're that serious about your poetry, print out the edits that others have made, stick them on your wall!
So next time you write, you can refer to them.

No, I'm not too keen on the whole editing idea.

Ilasir Maroa · 04-27-2008, 04:53 PM

I wouldn't say "just", Pale, although, effectively, that's where the real benefit comes from. Nor do I buy into the idea that it's "their" poem as well. If a publisher makes a suggestion to an author, that doesn't mean it's the publisher's story too now. It just means the author has to find a way to fit the publisher's request while keeping the piece their own. Same here.

Lagomorph · 04-27-2008, 07:05 PM

Good point Ash. I've only posted and altered one poem on here and left the original intact by posting the revised one further down and would rather see the complete organic picture in others' work (or werk)

.

Lagomorph

ash somers · 04-28-2008, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pale Gallery

...

Leave it and if you're that serious about your poetry, print out the edits that others have made, stick them on your wall!
So next time you write, you can refer to them.

...

lol, way too funny
now i have an image
of sticky notes posted
all over my office walls

some thing like this .....

tee hee, of course, i kid you, but really
i guess it comes back to personal preference
and what you hope to get out of posting your werk
thanks for all your opinions so far, it's been interesting

Cran · 05-04-2008, 05:48 PM

Perhaps it depends on the nature of the edit(s) ...

for example, if it's a case of correcting some spelling
or adding/deleting a comma here and there -
then I'd be inclined to simply acknowledge the error(s) in thread,
and correct the OP ...

if it's a matter of rewording or restructuring a part of the piece,
then if I wanted further opinion, I'd be inclined to add the edit
to the OP ...

if it's a major rewrite, then it's a different piece -
and should be in a different thread ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pale Gallery

Ilasir? So put every edit underneath the original? Not sure about that...

as for adding multiple edits to the OP -
no, only the last edit ...
replacing interim edits if necessary ...

Ilasir Maroa · 05-04-2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pale Gallery

Ilasir? So put every edit underneath the original? Not sure about that...

No, just the newest.

PrisonerOfPrey · 05-13-2008, 10:00 AM

Personally, I am fond of posting revisions on the original post with the word edit on top of it in a bright color. And then the original under it. Like this.

Edit
The water rushes fond and forlorn

Original

The water goes, loving yet sad

That way you can see both, but a person returning to the thread will notice a revision right away.