Compare and Contrast...Don't we all love that?

First of all, a belated welcome back from fall break! Now towards Thanksgiving!

Secondly, I meant to write a blog on Wednesday night detailing my informal writing session with my sister over fall break in lieu of my shadowing assignment, but then I talked with my friend who wanted me to help her with HER paper on Sunday, and so I decided to postpone the blog post so I could compare and contrast the two informal appointments. One of the first lessons I learned from both was that a writing consultant never quits. Ever. Once my friends and family found out that I was taking a class on editing, learning to be a writing consultant, I have received many frantic emails and calls asking me to look at papers. It's a lot like what my dad deals with as a dermatologist - everytime we're at a party or a big gathering of people someone inevitably asks him to look at some rash or dry skin or weird mole. And though it sounds like I'm complaining, I actually love it. First of all I love that people care enough about their writing that they ask me to look at it. I love that the label "writing consultant" isn't an anathema and that people view me as their ally. And selfishly, I just love reading other people's work, brainstorming with them, feeling like I've helped them write something truly good.

So when my sister asked me to help her with her midterm essay while I was visiting her at Stetson University over Fall break, I tried to play it cool with a nonchalant "Oh man, it's Fall break! But I guess if you REALLY need my help"...but we all know I was jumping with excitement on the inside. She actually hadn't started writing anything yet and was having trouble with the ideas at the base of the essay - the essay asked her to define a sociological method and then give examples. I honestly didn't understand the method so I asked her to explain it to me. Then by talking it through with her, we discussed some options - I led with questions, because I had an idea of what she could do but I wanted her to stumble upon it herself. And when she did, everything fell into place and she even though of things I hadn't thought of. It was collaboration at its finest.

Then when I got back, as I said before my friend asked me to help her with HER essay on Sunday. This was a completely different kind of editing process because her essay was fully completed. She was at the point where she had spent so much time on it that she couldn't step back and view it objectively and needed a second pair of eyes (I don't know about you, but I feel like that all of the time. Sometimes you just get so tangled in your own writing you just don't know if it's good or absolutely horrible). So I read through it with her, helped her with some style and organization, marked on the paper with her there and gave her a pencil (a strategy we discussed in class). It was a great contrast to the brainstorming I did with my sister, and really showed me the diversity of what a writing appointment can look like.