View From the Bushes

I don't mention this very often, but I'm the editor of DireKobold.com (I'm also the publisher, webmaster and valet). In many magazines, there is a Letter from the Editor which is then always signed: John Doe, Editor, Chunky Squirrels. You'll notice that I don't do that. I guess it seems somewhat pretentious. But lest anyone thinks otherwise, I really do enjoy editing, which seems odd to say. I know a lot of writers who don't have much problem writing but rewriting sends them into spasms of self-loathing and fear. Obviously it helps to be editing someone else's stuff and I've got some pretty good writers, so it's actually kind of fun.

Of course, as an editor you have to be away of things like "The Chicago Manual of Style". The 15th edition of the manual has just recently been released and Slate did a great article on it. I have not seen the most recent edition, but they did comment on something that I had often wondered about, the complete lack of a grammar section in the manual. The have rectified that in the latest edition, but apparently it only served to point out some inconsistencies in the Manual's own use of grammar. The Slate article is actually a fascinating read if you you like grammar...or are an editor...

My own role as an editor is somewhat interesting. Last year I was diagnosed as having "Phonological-Decoding Dyslexia". My primarily weaknesses seem to be sounding out novel new words (isn't that a great attribute for someone working in fantasy writing), spelling (isn't it great that I'm editing in an age with a spell checker), and grammar (which fortunately my wife ROCKS at, so I have her handle that). I mentioned the "Big-Head Story" in a previous entry of my blog promising to tell it once my readership had gotten bigger, well now that I'm in the low teens it's finally time, so that's what I'll be doing tomorrow and maybe the next day depending on how long it runs.

Carpe Diem Quam Minimum Credula Postero
Ross