A Peculiar Blindness

I thought things were going very well, at least, until now.

I attended my writer's group last night with a newly written introduction for my proposed book. I thought the introduction would help the reader understand both my purpose and my thought process. Easy stuff, right? Wrong! I simply failed to see the glaring issues until it was too late.

The comments from my group were justifiably critical regarding style, voice and redundancy. While it may come as a surprise to some, writer's must seek unbiased feedback for their work, or risk falling under some hypnotic trance.

Oddly, I realized some of the issues at the last minute. I usually look over my work one last time while the group reads. Holy Cow! I began to see the redundancies. I could actually "hear" the deadpan voice of that teacher on The Wonder Years, except he was blathering on about writing and engineering. No, that was MY voice! I was the one delivering lifeless drivel, not content to say it once, but to repeat it over and over.

I had read the piece several times. I had a marathon day yesterday editing four chapters that I had hoped to submit this week. I even edited the introduction. What happened?

I simply could not see my errors while in the comfort of my office.

What I need is an excuse. Let's see.....hmmmmm. That's it! The sun was in my eyes! Nah, they'll never buy that. Perhaps they'll believe I have devoted too much time writing and editing and that I am suffering from some form of editor's blindness. That sounds much better, I'm going with that one.

All kidding aside, I really could not see the mistakes but I think there may be a clue to what is actually happening. If I am able to see the errors in the class, then why couldn't I see them beforehand? I think I have a form of writer's laziness. But wait a minute! I have written fifteen thousand words, read the material multiple times and I have already made corrections. Laziness?!!!! That's absurd!

Not so fast. It is a FORM of laziness. It is laziness of the brain and the eyes.

Luckily, I am not the only one to experience this malady. It is actually quite common, but it seems very new to me. This is why writers are encouraged to present their written materials for objective criticism. As for my pride, I think it will recover. We can all use a good dose of humility from time to time. Hopefully, I will learn from this experience. Maybe I should drink a Red Bull before editing. Maybe I should hire a professional editor.