There’s a scene in Footloose that had me thinking of writing fundamentals. It was fitting given that lately I’ve been driven to review my own work with a sharper eye.

John Lithgow’s  character Reverend Shaw Moore is typing away at a sermon before a conversation with Lori Singer (Ariel Moore). Towards the end of the scene you can see him applying white-out correction fluid to a page. While I have not seen (and refuse to see) the 2011 remake, I expect the new version shows Dennis Quaid using a computer to write his sermons. If that exact scene is re-enacted.

We have the benefit of word-processing programs to assist us in editing and formatting. When notebooking we can simply scribble it all out. When we work using a computer, we can use as much digital white-out as we need for the screen.

Use those tools of the trade to sharpen your eyes. It can only clarify the work and clear any muddy waters surrounding the pages.

@WriterDann