[stylist] Critiquing and editing with JAWS

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Jackie,

First, I edit and critique in the manner in which I learned, and what
makes sense to me. In my experience, pointing out specific things to
both work on as well as what is working, helps much more in the revision
process than vague comments. If you like something, great, but why? And
if you don't like something, give the reasoning, it helps the writer
better understand what to focus on.

I spent four years at university critiquing and commenting in this
manner. We took studio workshops where we critiqued each others
manuscripts in a similar fashion. We not only provided written comments,
but we discussed as a group each others work, and when your work was
discussed, you weren't allowed to speak. It was intense, but I learned a
lot.

I also believe in critiqueing and affirming at the same time. I may make
suggestions based more on preference than what is right or wrong, and I
definitely focus on grammar, but I also search for the golden parts of a
piece. Specifics help us know what to work on and what our strong areas
are.

As for using JAWS, it doesn't take any more time, for me, than a person
using sight, or Braille. I do have a Braille display, but due to a nerve
condition, I can't read it as quickly. I've adjusted to using JAWS
predominantly. To truly read through a piece and provide helpful
comments, it takes a bit whether you're sighted or not. I first like to
read a piece through in it's entirety. Then I read Para to para,
focusing on grammar, content and structure. Depending on structure, I
may read sentence to sentence making sure each one is structurally
correct as well as having clarity. I definitely do this with my own
writing.

Finding grammatical errors or structural issues isn't that difficult if
you know what you're looking for. I rarely have to go character to
character or even word to word. I do slow JAWS down a bit to fully take
in what I'm reading. And hearing it read out loud is actually helpful.
They always tell writers to read their work out loud, and though JAWS
isn't a human voice, once you adjust to it, it's quite helpful to always
hear back what you're writing, or reading.

I will also turn on the all punctuation feature with JAWS and read
through a couple of times, hearing any punctuation.

It took me about an hour going through Brenda's piece, but again, I read
through a lot, each time focusing on different aspects. When really
looking to critique and comment on writing, this isn't any longer than
sighted people or Braille users. It also depends on how invested you are
with reading through a manuscript. I know what to look for, and in terms
of grammar and structure, though I claim to be no expert, and I make
plenty of my own mistakes, I'm a pretty good judge on what's right and
wrong.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 3
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:32:28 -0700
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Stephen King Fans
Message-ID: <52407CE70188486BA0331806EA073C0C at JackiLeePoet>
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Brenda, Brad, and Bridget,
How about an alliteration with Br words?
The  purpose of this e-mail is to comment on critique styles, and how
those might affect a beginning writer. I would have thought that Brad's
might inspire more confidence in continuing the effort, dealing more
with thoughts and structure, and Bridget's might be compared more to a
teacher stressing accuracy. She will correct grammar, punctuation,
capitalization and word choice  using a red pencil. I was wrong. Brenda,
you utilized both critique's to there ultimate and came up with an
improved piece. It reminds me of my poetry critiquing class. It is down
to eight people, and I can go around the table and know with absolutely
surety which one will concentrate on word choice, which one,
punctuation, and so forth. All are essential as long as the positive
comments are emphasized first. I remember when I started, I felt that
many did not recognize my talent. Time surely fixed that as I learned
how little I knew about poetry. Now, I worry that someone hated my piece
if he or she wrote nothing and therefore said nothing. I love critical
looks at a piece. It engages the mind. One question for you Bridget. How
can you critique so effectively with the detail you do unless your JAWS
is set to read absolutely every character. That would slow you down a
great deal in reading anything. On the other hand, to read a piece just
one word and punctuation mark at a time looking for errors, would be
equally time consuming. 
With great respect for all those who give their valuable time to
critique and give feedback on the results of that. Truly remarkable.
Jackie