PURIFYING MY PROSE -- by Jane Kelley
I think the Roman God Februus must have been an editor. I'm not talking about my actual editors. They've always been kind and generous. This guy represents the one inside me. The stern task master who is pointing out yet another misguided word, or sentence, or paragraph -- or entire chapter. According to Ovid, the ancestors believed that every sin and cause of evil could be erased by performing rites of purification in February. Most of my sins are found within the pages I'm writing. Let's hope Ovid is right. What is demanded of me? Cleaning -- This is needed on so many levels! First I must get rid of clutter. Throw away that scene where the Protagonist gets bullied. That adds nothing to the story. Wash away each trope and repetition. Scrub away the dirt of dull descriptions. Salting -- (I had to look up what this meant.) Long before the time of Ovid's ancestors, salt was used to draw out the impurities. Much like how my mother told me to gargle with salt water
