Written by chickaywrites

Spare me a few minutes, will you?

Have I mentioned in previous posts that I have been onboard Essays.PH for almost three years now? Yes, if we’re counting the time when it was still not that interactive – when it was still known by a different name.

Now that I’m being sentimental and nostalgic about it, I never thought I’d learn to love this industry (if it is already one) and this online writing community this much!

EPH is a continuously growing endeavor of Cyberpaul (the boss) and his group of friends. Like a toddler, this company goes through stages of development and milestones. There are times that the toddler stumbles clumsily, but these teach valuable lessons, which are ingrained for future reference. Every baby step is crucial, critical – and necessary. All of us are in for the adventure. I hope every homebased writer in this community would realize his/her contribution (and that every warn increase equates to the staff’s hope for improvement). I hope everyone is excited to see what the full-grown EPH is like!

I used to write. Used to worry about using up my GCs on the first two weeks of the month. I crammed (a lot!). I enjoyed choosing topics and always shunned away from bulk sets. If I end up with a set that’s taking so long to get filled up – I work on my set fast and claim another, and another. I was a s*cker for forced assignments, too!  From green I became blue, then purple…

As one of your  editors, there are times that I revise your work myself. Sometimes, I frown at the thought of processing the whole return-the-docs-for-revision thingee. It could really be a hassle (track changes, highlight errors, insert comments, zip the files, compose the diplomatic PM, etc.) so, I’d rather hit my mental scanner button and OC my way – article after article until my back, arms, and eyes hurt.

I thought I was helping, but I realized I wasn’t. You see, for every subpar article I revise, the writer earns thinking his or her work has met the standards. Soon, another such writer will come along. With the same treatment, s/he will also become complacent and clueless about the low quality of work submitted.

That is why I make it a point to return articles these days. With errors highlighted and comments inserted, the rejected documents are sent back to the authors for revision. There are sets that are really unacceptable, though. These are the articles that will really eat up an editor’s time. Articles teeming with errors – from spelling to subject-verb-disagreement to incorrect prepositions to really, really awkward sentences do not make it to the Reviewed Section anymore. These are the articles that editors think will not look any better even if revised by the same writer.

Rejections are whiplashes, I know. But like a parent scolding a child, I’d like you to learn from the mistakes and evaluate yourself, too. If you’d like to grow and become a better writer, you would take these rejections as a challenge. Do what you can to develop your skills. Ask questions. Take notes. Review the basics (read grade school books if need be!). Read, read, read!

So, there… I hope our little “talk” made sense somehow.

*****

Speaking of scolding a child, my 3yo snapped the right temple of my eyeglasses. I screeched in aghast; but that was all I could do. I had to count 1 to 50 to calm down… and had to “punish” her by asking her to face the wall. After a few minutes, my mother approached me and told me that maybe she has already served time facing the wall. So, I called her.

Now, imagine how Puss in Boots in the Shrek movies looks like — that’s how she looked at me while baby-talking, “Sorry, mommy!”

Of course, I melted and gave in – after all, I’m a mom…