His name is Humphrey, and he belongs to our dear friend, Nancy Sanders. Nancy, who also happens to be the author of our new WriteShop Primary series, invited Humphrey to be a guest writer on her blog yesterday, where he offers his own tips for making editing fun.
But don’t take it from me! Here’s “The Humph” himself to share some of his fabulous secrets!
- Hi. My name is Humphrey. I’m a cat. You may already know that. But what you may not know is that I’m also a writer. And today, now that you’re writing your [composition], I want to tell you about putting on your editor’s hat.
- Do you like to edit your own [writing]? You know—self edit? Come on…really?
- I don’t.
- I mean, it’s just not the cat’s meow.
- But I know I should. I know I’m supposed to. I know it’s what a cat’s gotta do to learn how to be a successful writer. So I decided to break my habit of neglecting this part of my writing life.
- The first thing I did was get myself an editor’s hat. You know—first you wear the writer’s hat and then you take that off and put on your editor’s hat? Right? Well, I didn’t have an editor’s hat. So I went out and got one. Like it? It even has a little mouse at the top and this twirly thing to twirl around. It’s purrfect for a cat like me. You should get one, too!
- After I finish my first draft of my manuscript, I set aside some time to edit. And now I make sure it isn’t the drudgery it used to be. I make sure it’s fun!
- I put on my silly editor’s beanie. It gets me in the mood to have fun, dude. Then I get out my special . . .
- Read the rest: Put on Your Editor’s Hat
Humphrey may be joking about wearing a special hat. Or…not! Nancy shared with me that she’s in the process of making her own editing hat. She’s going to stick velcro all over a floppy cotton beach hat and attach items related to the story she’s writing. Cute idea!
How about a baseball cap with the word “Editor” across the front? Or maybe a favorite beanie? But editing hat or no, once your kids adopt a few of Humphrey’s clever tips, I think they’ll actually begin to discover the JOY of editing.
And if you’re using WriteShop this year, your older kids will be able to apply these ideas while using their Writing Skills Checklists. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!