Tighten and Tone

Exercise is not my favorite activity. I know it’s a necessary evil and I know there are great benefits to be had from daily partaking in this event. But, I don’t like it. Over the years I’ve tried to find a form of exercise that I enjoy.

I used to ride bicycles with some friends who lived along the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento. I’d leave my bike at their house and stop by after work for a ride along the trail. That was enjoyable. Until summer time when it was a hundred and ten degrees in the shade. By the time Fall rolled around I was so out of shape I hated riding. Because I hurt so much the next day. It was a vicious cycle.

I’ve also participated in dozens of different forms of dance. Most I enjoyed, especially tap. But, as much as I’d like to think so, I’m not really a dancer. I’m not very coordinated or limber so this activity ended up being an exercise in mental strength to just keep going and try to have fun even though I knew I wasn’t doing the steps or the routine correctly. I was the dork always a step behind using the wrong arm. I will admit, it was fun.

My most recent foray into the exercise world is in the form of water zumba. It’s fun, but not ohmygoshthisisthebestthingeverIcantwaitfornextclass fun. It’s a workout and my body feels the after effects of each class. Let’s just say it gets worse as I get older. And no, I’m not going to quit. I’m not a quitter. And, it is fun. I just have to remind myself to take it easy until my body gets used to the new activity. Hopefully it will get used to it.

 

Well friends, I’m finding out that writing is also a form of exercise. And it’s just as excruciating tightening and toning and trimming a manuscript down as it is tightening and toning and trimming your body down. I edit and I edit and I edit and each time I think, okay, that’s better. Yet when I go over it again, there are still like a million little places to tighten and tone. When does it stop?

 

Here are some examples I just discovered in a manuscript that has been “professionally” edited. I crossed out the parts I trimmed down. You’d think it would be ready to publish after forty times and yet . . . here they are:

Example one: Today’s class, made up of fourth and fifth graders from an elementary school near Sedona, was learning about botany. (You see – too many words to say the same thing.)

Example two: . . . her overtaxed emotions became almost too much for her to bear unbearable. (Bam – one word verses seven.)

Example three: His eyes darted around the museum, first to his right, then around the gift shop to his left.  (Yeah, first right, then left IS around – duh.)

Example four: The dilapidated trailers standing on crumbling blocks . . . . (I mean what else would a trailer be doing if not standing?)

Example five: The air in the cabin of the Hummer thickened, revving her senses into high alert. (Use of the word IN makes it pretty danged obvious that it’s the cabin of the vehicle we’re talking about.)

Sheesh. Those were all in one chapter! This thing has been read many, many times by numerous people. And yet, tightening and toning really do slim this baby down. Work it. Work it. Can you feel the burn?

I know I have a tendency to use more words than necessary, even in every day life when I speak, but when you see it in black and white on a page, my goodness, it’s glaring. I wonder if I sound ridiculous when I speak?

Nah. Probably not.

How about you readers, do you find glaring wordiness in stuff you read/write/edit? Are you a fan of exercise? Do you think editing is a form of exercise?

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed today’s work out session. Until next time – peace out.

Word of the day: Vademecum

Fun fact about me: I’ve read all of the Little House on the Prairie books about 10 times.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, July 2017. Photos courtesy Google Images.