Comments on Mandy's Life After 30: The Edited Or Uncut Version?

I am such a planner....I think a lot about the pas...

2009-12-04T16:07:08.670-06:00

I am such a planner....I think a lot about the past and plan for things down the road. Sometimes getting too OCD about this makes me not enjoy the moments so much. Trying to strike a balance is a challenge when you have always been one way. I bought a book called the Power of Now...but haven't scheduled time to read it yet. :-)

What? You mean a movie based on a video game wasn&...

2009-12-03T16:15:12.374-06:00

What? You mean a movie based on a video game wasn't good? Shocking! :)

For me, I like to be boring and predictable with unpredictable moments... very few unpredictable moments.

Fantastic question! For me, it depends on what my...

2009-12-02T23:28:21.740-06:00

Fantastic question! For me, it depends on what my mood is, as well as how I might have "messed up" (which is certainly subjective :-) ).

Sometimes I just don't care, and sometimes I'm a total perfectionist. I guess there's no definitive answer on something like this, except to recommend people live their lives the way they want and how it makes them happiest! :-)

As a reader, I do like the unpredictable in the na...

2009-12-02T21:03:30.264-06:00

As a reader, I do like the unpredictable in the narrative. I have those "hey what just happened" moments as I read. As a writer, I would probably want to balance the two in order to keep the story on track and believable.

I don't like surprises, good or bad and would ...

2009-12-02T20:35:51.399-06:00

I don't like surprises, good or bad and would prefer a predictable scenario any day. I also edit till I'm blue in the face and sometimes question if it would have been better, if unedited. But staying true to your character is probably the best thing to do. Great post, cher!

All I know is that a movie based on a video game c...

2009-12-02T18:36:18.146-06:00

All I know is that a movie based on a video game can not be a good thing!

As Kenny Rogers said, "You've got to know...

2009-12-02T18:18:57.889-06:00

As Kenny Rogers said, "You've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." And by that very poor analogy, I mean that a little of both is best. But you have to judge carefully which to use based on the situation.

This is a tough one. I'm someone who always st...

2009-12-02T16:32:56.389-06:00

This is a tough one. I'm someone who always stives for balance...a little of this, a little of that and it all evens out in the end. If I get too predictable I bore myself, if things get too out of control I freak out. But I'd have to say unpredictability is usually more fun(although stressful for someone like myself, but I try to roll with it every once in a while).

Love this post! I've been dealing with this i...

2009-12-02T13:13:34.182-06:00

Love this post! I've been dealing with this issue a lot lately - both in life and my writing. I am a pretty straightforward person, but recently I really hurt the feelings of one of my close friends by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. It made me think I need to edit myself a little better when speaking. Once you say something, you can spend all the time you want clarifying, but you can't ever take it back.

As far as writing goes, I try to let the words flow freely, but I've noticed through editing that my sentences tend to go on forever. Gramatically correct, of course, but longer than what most people want to have to concentrate on. So I tend to edit my writing to make shorter sentences as I go along. But I let the story flow and conversations happen.

If I happen to think of a major plot change that would make the story more interesting, I do try to go back right away and search for the places I would need to edit in order to make that change make sense - otherwise I'm afraid I'll forget to do it and end up with a jarbled mess!

I'm in the first draft phase so I really get to just let my fingers push the story in any direction I so choose, but I do tend to edit as I go along so I can feel good that when I hit that little X on Microsoft Word, I know I've finished a solid section of a story rather than a string of words I won't recognize when I open it up again!

Oh Max Payne. Sadly I know exactly what movie you&...

2009-12-02T10:26:19.609-06:00

Oh Max Payne. Sadly I know exactly what movie you're talking about. J wanted to see it when it was in theaters for, like, a week, but I didn't want to. LOL.

Awesome thought-provoking post! I used to be like you in that my internal (and highly critical) editor was always sitting there on my shoulder, telling me what I *should* have said, or what I *should* have done, over-analyzing everything. But for some reason -- and I don't know how -- I managed to get rid of that editor. It was the same editor that told me I needed to plan out my entire life. One day I realized that though having a loose plan is good, there's no need for it to hamper spontaneous growth. Personally I think life is better uncut and unedited! You're right, it is beautiful and refreshing. Sometimes its offensive, but there's honesty in that offense and so there's a certain beauty in that too (as warped as that sounds).

I love how honest you are in your blogs. I can't wait to read your other even-more-honest writing!

Maybe a little of both makes for a richer yet bala...

2009-12-02T09:40:49.999-06:00

Maybe a little of both makes for a richer yet balanced life!?

Mandy, you are just adorable! (And that was sponta...

2009-12-02T09:23:24.220-06:00

Mandy, you are just adorable! (And that was spontaneous and unedited!)

Oh Mandy dear! You always get me thinking about s...

2009-12-02T08:58:18.384-06:00

Oh Mandy dear! You always get me thinking about serious stuff when I would much rather drink my coffee and pretend everything is gumdrops and lollipops!

As I am sure you know, I'm not much of a planner and live everyday from the seat of my pants. So far it's working for me and I enjoy life so much. Sometimes I enjoy it way too much! There are times that I think about changing my ways, settling down a little more, being more careful about planning my future, but it just doesn't seem to happen. So far I am really enjoying the ride and I don't think I am ready to slow down just yet. One day though.

I DO hate films like that, but I LOVE life like th...

2009-12-02T04:26:32.006-06:00

I DO hate films like that, but I LOVE life like that. I think you've hit on some pretty universal issues here (or maybe it's just that us bloggers tend to be a little more into navel gazing than the average joe...)

Oh, and FWIW, I LOVE it when I'm the first one in the family to figure out a twist in a movie or TV show! (I'm pretty sure I know how Mr. Monk got poisoned and I thought of it before the rest of my family and I can't wait to do a "Booya!" dance Friday when we find out I'm right...)