Dampening a friend's interest in writing

I was just out of college in 1979, and a close friend of mine showed me a short story he'd written.

It wasn't badly written — I was actually impressed with it — but it had about a half-dozen mistakes, and I pointed those out. My friend showed it to our high-school English teacher, and she agreed with my edits.

Then something happened I didn't want to see. My friend was so stunned at the edits that he didn't try to write short stories anymore. I don't know that he's ever written another.

Over the years, I've learned how to make edits without hurting a writer's feelings. I know I'M pretty sensitive, and others are, too. And I remember my friend's reaction to my editing.

I don't want to dampen a person's interest in writing as I did by accident 37 years ago.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. TWITTER: EDITORatWORK.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries
• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

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• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Good Samaritan

• The PRESS cap and my friend Mike

• Watching TV

• No luck with Billy Sims

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!