Subject:Re: Giving a Document **One Voice** From:Beth Agnew <beth -dot- agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca> Date:Sat, 04 Feb 2006 01:59:37 -0500
I like Dick's approach, which is based on depth of knowledge and
experience with editing. He is able to find that collective editorial
voice ("his" editorial voice, at its best) and apply that to the
documents. I wanted to just make the distinction between that
professional and much-to-be-desired approach, and its opposite, which
imposes the editor's own authorial voice. The latter is not a smooth,
composite voice, but one unique to an editor who doesn't "get it". Poor
editing occurs when the editor has to rewrite everything to make it
sound like her, because that's the only way she knows how to deal with
others' writing. Good editing is what Dick does. Ownership means you
take responsibility for the quality of the document, as Dick pointed
out, not that you make it "your own". Subtle distinction, perhaps, but
with very different results.
--Beth
Dick Margulis wrote:
Several people have offered good ways to approach the "one voice"
problem. Here's one more:
I take the position that the one voice is going to be mine. Not my
sometimes wry, sometimes deeply thoughtful, sometimes sarcastic or
sardonic, sometimes long-convoluted-sentence mailing list voice but my
clear-expository-writing voice, the one that channels Strunk & White
and my high school English teacher.
In other words, I just take ownership of every part of the document
and make it all as clear and readable as I know how, without regard
for the idiosyncrasies of the original author but with full regard for
the needs of the planned audience. If a section has to be completely
reorganized and rewritten, I do that. If it just needs sentences
recast for person, number, mood, and voice, I do that.
What I do not do is lose cycles trying to channel someone else's voice.
--
Beth Agnew
Professor, Technical Communication
Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
Toronto, ON 416.491.5050 x3133 http://www.tinyurl.com/83u5u
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