When editing goes wrong

When you write, you have to make choices. Put this in, leave this out, shape the scene, prune out the excess so that the whole has more impact. You might leave great stuff on the cutting room floor, but you do it so that you achieve your goal, you move the reader along, you leave them with something to remember.

Most of the time if you can cut, you're better off cutting. The piece is better without it. It hurts a little at first, but it's best in the long run.

But sometimes, you're writing a blog post, and you wanted to say something like this:

"Kara's 'I'm married' speech the other night would have had a lot more impact if she weren't practically sitting in Simon's lap. Kara - you are not Paula! Could we please put Ellen next to Simon instead? Or Randy? Of course... maybe they'd end up in his lap, too."

And then it's like American Idol reads your mind.