Writing and Editing

Writing may refer to two activities: the inscribing of characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other constructs that represent language or record information, and the creation of material to be conveyed through written language. (There are some exceptions; for example, the use of a typewriter to record language is generally called typing, rather than writing.) Writing refers to both activities equally, and both activities may often occur simultaneously.

Methods for recording information

Logographies

A logogram is a written character which represents a word or morpheme. The vast array of logograms needed to write a language, and the many years required to learn them, are the major disadvantage of the logographic systems over alphabetic systems. However, the efficiency of reading logographic writing once it is learned is a major advantage.

No writing system is wholly logographic. All have phonetic components as well as logograms ("logosyllabic" components in the case of Chinese, cuneiform, and Mayan, where a glyph may stand for a morpheme, a syllable, or both; "logoconsonantal" in the case of hieroglyphs), and many have an ideographic component (Chinese "radicals", hieroglyphic "determiners".) For example, in Mayan, the glyph for "fin", pronounced ka', was used to represent the syllable ka whenever clarification was needed. However, such phonetic elements complement the logographic elements, rather than vice versa.

The main logographic system in use today is Chinese, used with some modification for various languages of China, Japanese, and, to a lesser extent, Korean in South Korea. Another is the classical Yi script.

Syllabaries

A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent (or approximate) syllables. A glyph in a syllabary typically represents a consonant followed by a vowel, or just a vowel alone, though in some scripts more complex syllables (such as consonant-vowel-consonant, or consonant-consonant-vowel) may have dedicated glyphs. Phonetically related syllables are not so indicated in the script. For instance, the syllable ka may look nothing like the syllable ki, nor will syllables with the same vowels be similar.

Syllabaries are best suited to languages with relatively simple syllable structure, such as Japanese. Other languages that use syllabic writing include the Linear B script for Mycenaean Greek; Cherokee; Ndjuka, an English-based creole of Surinam; and the Vai script of Liberia. Most logographic systems have a strong syllabic component.

Alphabets

An alphabet is a small set of symbols, each of which roughly represents or historically represented a phoneme of the language. In a perfectly phonological alphabet, the phonemes and letters would correspond perfectly in two directions: a writer could predict the spelling of a word given its pronunciation, and a speaker could predict the pronunciation of a word given its spelling. As languages often evolve independently of their writing systems, and writing systems have been borrowed for languages they were not designed for, the degree to which letters of an alphabet correspond to phonemes of a language varies greatly from one language to another and even within a single language.

In most of the alphabets of the Mid-East, only consonants are indicated, or vowels may be indicated with optional diacritics. Such systems are called abjads. In other, vowels are indicated through diacritics or modification of the shape of the consonant. These are called abugidas. Some abugidas, such as Ethiopic and Cree, are learned by children as syllabaries, and are often called "syllabics". However, unlike true syllabaries, there is not an independent glyph for each syllable.

Sometimes the term "alphabet" is restricted to systems with separate letters for consonants and vowels, such as the Latin alphabet.

Featural scripts

A featural script notates the building blocks of the phonemes that make up a language. For instance, all sounds pronounced with the lips ("labial" sounds) may have some element in common. In the Latin alphabet, this is accidentally the case with the letters b and p; however, labial m is completely dissimilar, and the similar-looking q is not labial. In Korean Hangul, however, all four labial consonants are based on the same basic element. However, in practice, Korean is learned by children as an ordinary alphabet, and the featural elements tend to pass unnoticed.

Another featural script is SignWriting, the most popular writing system for many sign languages, where the shapes and movements of the hands and face are represented iconically. Featural scripts are also common in fictional or invented systems, such as Tolkien's Tengwar.

Historical significance of writing systems

Historians draw a distinction between prehistory and history, with history defined by the advent of writing. The cave paintings and petroglyphs of prehistoric peoples can be considered precursors of writing, but are not considered writing because they did not represent language directly.

Writing systems always develop and change based on the needs of the people who use them. Sometimes the shape, orientation and meaning of individual signs also changes over time. By tracing the development of a script it is possible to learn about the needs of the people who used the script as well as how it changed over time.

Tools

(see methods of representing text)

Writing in Historical Cultures

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Writing_system#History of writing systems. (Discuss)

Mesopotamia

The original Mesopotamian writing system was initially derived from a system of clay tokens used to represent commodities. By the end of the 4th millennium BC, this had evolved into a method of keeping accounts, using imprints of a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the term cuneiform), at first only for numbers, and finally a general purpose writing system, initially used to represent Sumerian. This writing system was originally a logographic writing system, but had begun to evolve phonetic elements by the 29th century BC. By the 26th century BC, this script had been adapted to another Mesopotamian language, Akkadian, and from there to others such as Hurrian, and Hittite. Scripts similar in appearance to this writing system include those for Ugaritic and Old Persian.

Egypt

The earliest known hieroglyphic inscriptions are the Narmer Palette, dating to c.3200 BC, and several recent discoveries that may be slightly older, though the glyphs were based on a much older artistic tradition. The hieroglyphic script was logographic with phonetic adjuncts that included an effective alphabet.

Writing was very important in maintaining the Egyptian empire, and literacy was concentrated among an educated elite of scribes. Only people from certain backgrounds were allowed to train to become scribes, in the service of temple, pharaonic, and military authorities. The hieroglyph system was always difficult to learn, but in later centuries was purposefully made even more so, as this preserved the scribes' status.

The world's oldest known alphabet was developed in central Egypt around 2000 BC from a hieroglyphic prototype, and over the next 500 years spread to Palestine and eventually to the rest of the world.

Phoenician writing system and descendents

The Phoenician writing system was adapted from the Proto-Caananite script in around the 11th century BC, which in turn borrowed ideas from Egyptian hieroglyphics. This writing system was an abjad - that is, a writing system in which only consonants are represented. This script was adapted by the Greeks, who adapted certain consonantal signs to represent their vowels. This alphabet in turn was adapted by various peoples to write their own language, resulting in the Etruscan alphabet, and its own descendents, such as the Latin alphabet and Runes. Other descendents from the Greek alphabet include the Cyrillic alphabet, used to write Russian, among others. The Phoenician system was also adapted into the Aramaic script, from which the Hebrew script and also that of Arabic are descended.

China

In China historians have found out a lot about the early Chinese dynasties from the written documents left behind. From the Shang Dynasty most of this writing has survived on bones or bronze implements. Markings on turtle shells have been carbon-dated to around 1,500 BC. Historians have found that the type of media used had an effect on what the writing was documenting and how it was used.

Indus Valley

The Indus Valley script is one of the most fascinating and mysterious aspects of ancient Indian culture as it has not yet been deciphered. Although we have many example of the Indus script, without true understanding of how the script works and what the inscriptions say, it is impossible to understand the importance of writing in the pre-Indo-European Harappan Civilization.

Elsewhere

Many other systems have been developed independently, e.g. the complex Mayan writing; Etruscan is still not deciphered despite a fairly large corpus of material (mainly Latin and Greek).

Creation of text or information

Creativity

Main article: Creativity

In order to write a creative essay or short story, there are several tools that you can employ:

dialogue (conversation and your thoughts) sensory imagery (the five senses and your feelings) dialect concrete details (as opposed to abstract ideas) literary devices (such as similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and understatement)

Author

Main article: Author

Critiques

Writers will often search out others to evaluate or critique their work. This can give the writer a better product in the end. To this end, many writers join writing circles, often found at local libraries or bookstores. With the evolution of the internet, writing circles have started to go online.

See also

Wikibooks has more about this subject:

Fiction technique

• author
• boustrophedon text
• calligraphy
• communication
• creative writing
• decipherment
• fiction writing
• interactive fiction
• linguistics
• literacy
• manuscript
• orthography
• pencil
• printing
• publishing
• speech
• graphonomics
• word processing
• writer
• writing slate
• writing systems
• List of writers' conferences

Further reading

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Writing

• A History of Writing: From Hieroglyph to Multimedia, edited by Anne-Marie Christin, Flammarion (in French, hardcover: 408 pages, 2002, ISBN 2080108875)
• Das "Anrennen gegen die Grenzen der Sprache" Diskussion mit Roland Barthes, André Breton, Gilles Deleuze & Raymond Federman by Ralph Lichtensteiger
• By writers for writers Authors Society.org
• Origins of writing on AncientScripts.com
• History of Writing
• Writing.Com: Online Writing: A site for writers to exchange feedback

ERIC Digests

• Writing Instruction: Current Practices in the Classroom
• Writing Development
• Writing Instruction: Changing Views over the Years
• Sample writing
• Writers website

Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for publication through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. A person who edits, especially professionally or as a hobby, is called an editor.

Professionals may specialize in the editing of writing, still images, cinema/video, sound recordings, and music recordings. These areas sometimes overlap depending on the project. For example, language editors may comment on or make alterations to graphics and photographs embedded in a job that mostly comprises language; sound editors may make alterations in the linguistic text of, for example, a sound interview, to improve the intended meaning or reduce the duration of an item.

Print media

There are various levels of editorial positions in publishing. Typically one finds junior editorial assistants reporting to senior level editorial managers and directors, who themselves report to senior executive editors responsible for project development to final releases. Human editors in the print publishing industry include people who are responsible for:

• Newspapers and wire services; see below.
• Organizing anthologies and other compilations.
• Organizing and publishing a magazine —. The top editor may be called editor-in-chief.
• Producing a definitive edition of a classic author's works — a scholarly editor.
• Organizing and managing contributions to a multi-author book — symposium editor or volume editor.
• Finding marketable ideas and presenting them to appropriate authors — a sponsoring editor.
• Obtaining copy or recruiting authors — such as the acquisitions editor or commissioning editor for a publishing house.
• Improving an author's writing so that they indeed say what they want to say, in an effective manner — a substantive editor. Depending on the writer's skill, this editing can sometimes turn into ghost writing. Substantive editing is seldom a title. Many types of editors do this type of work, either in-house at a publisher or on an independent basis.
• Correcting spelling, grammar, and matters of house style — a copy editor. But copy editors at newspapers usually also have greater and higher responsibilities, which may include the design of pages and the selection of news stories for inclusion. At U.K. newspapers, the term is "sub-editor."
• Choosing the layout of the publication and communicating with the printer — a production editor. This and similar jobs are also called "layout editor," "design editor," "news designer," or -- more so in the past -- "makeup editor."

The smaller the publication, the more these roles run together. In particular, the substantive editor and copy editor often overlap:

• Fact-checking can be the responsibility of either.
• Copy editors who find an inappropriate term or phrase will often suggest or make an improvement.

Executive editor

The top editor sometimes has the title executive editor or editor-in-chief (the former is replacing the latter in the language). This person is generally responsible for the content of the publication. The exception is that newspapers that are large enough usually have a separate editor for the editorials and opinion pages.

The executive editor sets the publication standards for performance, and is responsible for assuring the highest standards of ethical conduct in the process of gathering and presenting information, as well as for motivating and developing the staff. The executive editor is also responsible for developing and maintaining the publication budget. In concert with the publisher and the operating committee, the executive editor is responsible for strategic and operational planning.

Newspapers

Editors at newspapers supervise journalists and improve their work.

Newspaper editing encompasses a variety of titles and functions. These include:

• Copy editors
• Department editors
• Managing editors and assistant or deputy managing editors (the managing editor is often second in line after the top editor)
• News editors, who oversee the news desk
• Photo or picture editors
• Section editors and their assistants, such as for business, features, and sports
• Top editors, who may be called editor in chief or executive editor
• Readers' editors, sometimes known as the ombudsman, who arbitrate complaints
• Wire editors, who choose and edit articles from various international wire services, and are usually part of the copy desk
• Administrative editors (who actually don't edit but perform duties such as recruiting and directing training)

The term city editor is used differently in North America, where it refers to the editor responsible for the news coverage of a newspaper's local circulation area (also sometimes called metro editor), and in the United Kingdom, where (normally with a capital C) it refers to the editor responsible for coverage of business in the City of London and, by extension, coverage of business and finance in general.

Visual media

Editors in the visual mediums, who may be described as film or video editors, perform a variety of tasks. Assistant editors and production assistants perform preliminary screening and logging of motion picture footage; senior editors are responsible for creative placement of scenes and shots, structural placement of major elements and organization of the entire presentation. Other editors are involved with assembly of the final product and preparation for distribution.

See related articles at film editing, video editor

Sound media

Motion pictures have many sound editors, this team works with various aspects of the picture or program's sound designers. These editors construct tracks consisting of assembled pre-recorded dialogue, the audio mixing in of sound effects, foley and music to achieve the desired effect for the motion pictures and television programs.

See related articles at sound recording, sound effects, DAW

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, editor comes from the Latin phrase e ditus which means "to put forward". The editor ludorum in Ancient Rome was the person who put on the games. In French, editeur means "publisher". Also in Italian editore means "publisher". The word came into English from French. The verb to edit is a back formation from editor.

External links

Professional associations:

• American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors
• American Copy Editors Society
• American Society of Business Publication Editors, for trade magazines
• American Society of Magazine Editors
• American Society of Newspaper Editors, mainly for top editors at daily newspapers
• Associated Press Managing Editors
• Associated Press Sports Editors
• Association of Opinion Page Editors
• Editorial Freelancers Association, based in the USA
• Editors' Association of Canada
• International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors
• Organization of News Ombudsmen for readers' editors and ombudsmen
• World Editors Forum

Online resources:

• EServer TC Library: Editing
• Writer Beware on Independent Editors

Articles:

• Black day for the blue pencil