Huh...Maybe I'm Not a Freak After All

Once I'm finished with a rough draft of a manuscript, the next step I take is to apply critiques I've received from my 4 best critters. Nothing weird about that. This is what most writers do. Here's where I differ...

I print the thing out, the whole thing, then stock up on red pens and read through the entire hard copy. Not too many writers do this anymore. I simply like the feel of a red pen in my hand (and editing is my favorite stage of the game), but I have been told I'm a luddite for doing this. And to that I say...

Luddites of the world, UNITE!

There was a great post over at Lifehacker yesterday affirming that this practice is a great way to edit your own work. They went so far as to say:

"As any writer or editor will tell you, critiquing someone else's work is much easier than deconstructing your own, because outside eyes bring a fresh perspective. To approach your own work critically, you need to simulate this "outsider" perspective by viewing it in a form other than the one you wrote it in."

So to all you naysayers out there who called me a neanderthal, I humbly say, "Na-na-na-boo-boo."