Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Bye bye birdie

When you finally muster the courage to delete the not-quite-right-can't-put-your-finger-on-it paragraphs/sections, it's like having a massive bowel movement that was theretofore obstructing your whole personage. Freeing, really, that DELETE key.

Begone oh vapid prose!

12 comments:

dean said...

Yes! It's exactly like dropping a massive load off in the crapper.

Exactly like that.

Tony Rugare said...

Is "undelete" the equivalent of Liquid Plumber?

Erin O'Brien said...

What's really funny is the sniveling internal argument that ensues just prior to said deletions.

... but I just can't delete that one cool sentence with the thingie about hard-wiring because it's so cool and I just can't delete it! I just can't! ... JeSUS already! delete it you boob!

Kirk said...

Wasn't it William Faulkner who said writers must be willing to kill their darlings?

MilesB said...

Amen!

paul bitzan said...

Revision is the most difficult thing I ever have to do. Because, hell, I wrote it exactly...precisely...perfectly fine the first time.

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Hal said...

I believe you're right, Kirk, though the phrase I've heard is "killing your children."

Though when the killing is done, you'll probably realize it was a bastard...

Well I tried to complete the metaphor. Hee hee!

CynDe said...

I seem to remember Tony Pluto being sorry he deleted his 1997 World Series column when he realized Mesa blew the game. Must have been at the same moment that the trophy was removed and the network pulled all the lighting out of the Tribe's locker room.

Pluto regretted it!

The same reason I detest digital press cameras...you don't know when you may have photographed something of historical significance but OOPS - deleted it!

philbilly said...

I predict Anavid is a spammer.

Erin O'Brien said...

She is not, Phil. She's a buddy of mine. Even read my cards once and it was way cool.

John Ettorre said...

Never quite thought of it that way, but now I probably always will. I too thought of that line by Faulkner when I read this.