Wednesday, December 14, 2011

abbreviation break

I mentioned a while ago that one of my pet peeves is abbreviation usage: you should abbreviate whatever it is once, and then never again. Oh, and give your readers a break and include an abbreviation list at the beginning if the document is any longer than, oh, 5 pages.

I've been having some long, stressful days in the field recently. I also had long, complicated report to review during those times while I was waiting on someone else (happened more than it should have because of mechanical issues, but that's a whole 'nother story).

It was a lovely break to edit the report. I got to rip through and fix all the stupid abbreviation issues, catch a bunch of missed/duplicated words, and rearrange some sentences. It was, in the level of serious intellectual activity, equivalent to an especially easy sudoku puzzle.

I enjoy writing, whether it's for work, for this blog, or whether I'm adding to the novel simmering away on the back burner. I think I may enjoy editing more, even though it's not nearly as rewarding in the long term. Maybe I'm in the wrong line of work...

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