How is Your Story Built? Editing for Structure

I started a series of posts a while ago about the different types of editing. Today I am going to write about editing for structure.

How is your document organized? Keep your fingers off your keyboard and read it as a reader. A large part of my work is editing non-fiction articles, but the same questions can be applied to memoirs, family history, fiction, and even business writing.

1. Does the introduction prepare the reader for what follows?
2. Does the introduction captivate?
3. Are there confusing transitions?
4. Does the timeline flow logically or does the piece move back and forth in time?
5. Is there extraneous information that distracts the reader from the main point? Do all of the parts relate to the whole?
6. Does the piece have a solid through-line that takes the reader from introduction to conclusion? 

Once you have answered these questions, you can start to revise.

Our goal is to create the best experience we can for the reader. We do not want to lose them along the way.

Sources:
Advanced Study in Writing for Business and the Professions by Anne Hungerford (course material)
"Writing from the Top Down: Pros and Cons of the Inverted Pyramid", Poytner. by Chip Scanlan

Related Posts:
Revising, revising, revising
Truth and Accuracy
Editing for Audience and Purpose

Agent Carter - a taste of sexism in the 1940s

I watched Marvel's Agent Carter last night and while not strictly speaking a historical show it felt a bit like a sequel to Bomb Girls. The comic book based TV show is set in the post WWII era in 1946 but has the added twist of super villians from the Marvel Comic world. The show has lots of nice little bits that give you a feel of what life was like for women in that era.

Despite her work during the war Agent Peggy Carter is relegated to secretarial duties in the Strategic Scientific Reserve (the top secret Allied war agency). The male agents ask her to make coffee and do filing. Carter’s roommate Colleen complains that she has to train men to do her job at the factory and that the women are being laid off and replaced by men. Rosie the Riveter was being replaced with images of women in domestic roles and women were strongly encouraged to stay at home and not continue doing “men’s work.”

Carter’s interview for a room at a women’s residence really highlighted society’s expectations for how women were supposed to behave. They were only expected to work until they got married and lead a modest life.

So while not a history show the research and attention to detail gives the story a realistic feel.

Besides, Agent Peggy Carter is a woman to be admired, tough, resourceful, and smart.

Facebook and the Genealogist

Back in September I went to the Harvest Your Family Tree hosted by the Kelowna and District Genealogical Society. Mark your calendar for September 2016 as it is BC's biggest conference and is held every two years and was attended by over 200 amateur and professional genealogists.

As part of the goody bag from the conference I could take a free online course from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. I just started "Social Media Tools for the Wise Genealogist."

Module 1 suggested a some new Facebook sites for family history and I came across a link to Genealogy à la carte and her post "Facebook for Canadian genealogy." She discusses her initial reluctance to use social media for genealogy until she discovered groups. I agree with her that the groups are great. You can get notifications about new resources coming available, resources you might not have considered, and so forth. For example, through the County Waterford History & Genealogy Facebook page, I just learnt that by summer 2015, the National Library of Ireland will have a dedicated website making its collection of Catholic parish register microfilms freely available online. I can't wait!

Gail Dever of Genealogy à la carte has compiled a listing of genealogical societies, historical societies, national and provincial archives, museums, United Empire Loyalist groups, and special interest groups for Canadian genealogy; you can download it from the bottom of her post.

Try out some of the pages and let me know if you found some favourites.