I edit my blog posts. I can’t seem to help myself. I try to get them in good form before I post, but then as soon as I put one online, I always find something I want to change. Sometimes it’s simply that there was too much or too little space between paragraphs. Other times I’ll look at a post after it’s up, and notice I used a word repeatedly, the sequence of events could be better, or I really should add a bit more information to clarify something. I often find I start too many sentences with the word “I”. So, I tweak. Right now, while this blog is new, I’m not sure I have enough readers that anyone would notice. But if anyone has been reading this, and notices that in the first few days after a post, the blog changes, I hope it doesn’t bother you much. I can’t seem to help myself! I edit my blog.
I also edit songs. I used to think when I wrote a song, it was a something that was inspired and sacred, and should not be changed. When I write now, I work on the basic idea, then give it a little time to gel. When I look at the song again, I usually find things I want to strengthen. There always comes a time when I decide that the song is as good as it’s going to get. Sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes a few weeks. I’ve had a song or two I’ve reworked after months or a year. I don’t perform them until I’m satisfied that they’re in final form. To be honest, I don’t perform my music very often anyway. I sing in two choirs, and have no stage fright at all when I sing in a group, but sharing my own songs can be difficult and a bit frightening. When I do share my songs, I’m usually glad I did.
My basic philosophy of writing is this: it’s better to write a first draft uninterrupted than to try to make it perfect. I can look back at it later and rework it. Sometimes, it takes another person reading what I wrote to figure out what should be changed. My last post changed quite a bit after my son gave me some feedback.
I don’t know if other bloggers edit their posts. I’m hoping to get into a place where posts are satisfactory before I put them online. Until I get there, if you read a post right after I put it up, and the next time it’s a little different, you’re not imagining things. I edit my blog.
Me and Mom: The back of the picture says I was 21 months old. She was 28.
About Me
- Sue R
- I named my blog Grown Up Motherless Child because that's what I am. My mother died when I was nine, and it's taken long years to become who I was meant to be. Now, I work as the bereavement coordinator for a Dallas hospice, fortunate to be able to use what I have learned through professional training and life experience to help others. I am also an unpublished songwriter. Songwriting grew out of my need to express myself after my mother died. In this blog, I'll be telling my stories, and also talking about what I've learned from helping others.
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