I’ve heard it said that J.R.R Tolkien was a writer and C.S. Lewis was a storyteller. I am not a writer. I am a storyteller. I truly believe in the power of stories and even more the power of stories when they are spoken aloud. We speak much differently from how we write. If we spoke like we wrote, people would look at us funny. It just doesn’t sound right sometimes.
None of the stories that I have put on this blog, which are my original creations, have been professionally edited. I am not a writer, and my grammar and spelling skills are lacking, to say the least. I have purposefully chosen, for the time, not to seek out professional editing of my stories for this blog. There are a few reasons for this.
The first being that I originally created these stories in my head, then I told them to my kids without ever writing them down. Then I wrote them down so I wouldn’t forget them and could review them as needed to retell them someday. I wrote them down as close to the original telling of the story as possible. I did embellish the written version and sometimes improved it. My point is I wrote them like I spoke them, and I wanted to stay true to my intention, that these are stories to be told out loud, not necessarily read aloud (although I do love that, too). Does that make sense?
The second reason for the unedited version of my stories is that I want you to be inspired, not intimidated. If I, who isn't particularly gifted in the fine art of editing, can tell a story to my children that impacts them deeply, then you can too. You don’t need to be a professional writer to have this relationship with your children. They are not writing or language critics (at least not yet); they are hungry hearts waiting to eat up whatever you tell them. Forget the editing, just tell the story that is in your heart! This is actually what I tell my kindergarten students as well. Just write what you hear, don't worry about the correct spelling...yet.
Thirdly, I am, but a poor Kindergarten public school teacher, and an editor costs money. I’m afraid to impose upon my friends who may be much more equipped for the editing job than I am.
Also, I'm dyslexic, and to take a page from Pooh's book, "My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places." If I waited until the spelling unwobbled, I'd never push that intimidating "publish" button.
So, for now, what you see is what you get, and if you are one of those amazingly gifted people who really struggle to read bad editing, I understand. Either don’t read my stuff or offer to edit for me for free, or I suppose you can always give me some grace.
Sound fair?
I’d give you credit for editing, of course.
Warmly,
Kristen
Warmly,
Kristen
