15 Minute Writings: 5 Minute Edits
Click Here to Read My 15:5's
Since
I'm a drafter, a multiple, and I mean multiple, reviser, I want to get
better at writing something quickly and getting it in publishable format
quickly too. As my college newspaper editor for two years at Tabor College, I used to be pretty good at that, but that was back in 1987.
Everything posted here will be from a prompt I've gotten online or from a book.
I
will write, stream of consciousness-style for 15-minutes only. I will
do a little editing as I write, but not much. The online egg timer will
buzz, and I will edit and revise for only 5-minutes.
For
those who don't know the difference, editing is the process of fixing
errors or adding correct punctuation, capitalization, and the like.
Revising involves re-wording things, moving stuff around, deleting,
adding, etc.
I
love revising. I find it exhilarating, but since I still have a day job
that starts back up again soon (I teach seventh grade English and
sophomore public speaking), I need to get faster to keep my blog going.
So,
this is my writing in raw form. Beware, I type fast and I will most
likely have typos that I don't catch. I will not go back in and correct them. Later, when I go back and look at it, I will make
comments on my own work at the end to identify the errors or problems I see. This will help me
track if I get any better at this or not.
Who knows, maybe this will encourage someone else to start writing or practice their writing.
What I am doing is Deliberate Practice. Read more about it here.
I've zoomed in on a weakness, and I'm going to practice getting better.
Did
this sort of thing my junior year of high school with basketball. In
our machine shed named the Butler Building, I would pick a spot and
shoot until I made 3/5 shots. I always completed the set of five even if
I knew there was no way I would make the goal of 3/5. I would decide at
the onset how many sets of five I would shoot before rotating to the
next spot.
How
did this deliberate practice help me and my basketball team? I started
making more shots in games and having the confidence to actually shoot
too! I certainly wasn't the leading scorer, but I could be counted on to swish 'em from 15 feet out.
I
used deliberate practice with golf a few years ago. I'd play two balls
on each hole and force myself to use a certain club on one ball. That's
how I learned to actually use my 3-wood. Then I'd do the same with some
of the longer irons.
So,
deliberate practice is easy to implement in sports, but
now I will try it on something more academic because I am determined to
keep up this writing. As of today, July 31, 2014, it has been 74 days
now in a row that I have made the time to write, and I'm not breaking
this string! I have a thing about
streaks. Read about one that lasted 14 years in my second-ever blog post.
So Deliberate Practice...here we come! I'll nickname it DP.
DP #1 is Summer Sunshine (and I got it from Joe Bunting's awesome site)
Now I will just have to figure out how to link it without starting a whole new blog! Oh Kristi, you are three states away when I need you!
Click Here to Read My 15:5's
