I admit it’s been arduous at times, but elevating the craft of writing is an endeavour that doesn’t yield an immediate result. Producing a commodity that resonates with an intended audience requires an open mind, an aspiration for a higher standard, and the discipline to make constructive revisions.
I’ve been consumed with the revision process lately, looking at my portfolio platforms with a fresh perspective and editing for greater clarity and ease of navigation. Feedback from both our professor and classmates proved invaluable this week as I noticed some broken links, formatting issues and copy weaknesses.
It doesn’t matter how intent I am as I draft, edit and produce content, inevitably I will miss something. A fellow classmate picked up on some inconsistencies in my professional portfolio that likely would never have been corrected without her keen eye for detail. That’s one thing that a writer can never do without – peer review. Even in my professional capacity, I cannot function without it. Before copy advances for subject matter expert approval, I have a colleague peruse it for any subtle errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation or syntax.
With that it mind, I’m weeding the garden of my work to let the words speak for themselves. I’m giving them room to grow so they don’t compete with the structure, layout and delivery of the message. And once I feel as though I’ve produced a polished product, I will seek feedback yet again, knowing the weeds can always creep back in if I’m not vigilant!
The Word Grower 
The revision process can be all consuming at times, but I enjoy seeing my work and others get better and better. Although, I find that I spend a lot of time on visual elements as well as the words. As you said, peer review holds immense value. It is good you can benefit from it in the professional environment. Many times a writer’s work is a solo endeavor, as I commented to another classmate. Review of a document or site is not available until it goes public. I will miss peer review when we graduate!
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