Hellobee Boards Topic: When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing?

Hellobee Boards Topic: When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:04:51 +0000 mamimami on "When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-youre-reading-a-book-or-newspaper-do-you-ever-mentally-edit-sentences-to-be-less-confusing#post-479920 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:09:32 +0000 mamimami 479920@https://boards.hellobee.com/ All the time. I do this as part of my job and it's impossible to turn off. I DO IT WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING! Somebody, stop me. Mrs. Pen on "When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-youre-reading-a-book-or-newspaper-do-you-ever-mentally-edit-sentences-to-be-less-confusing#post-479746 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:52:42 +0000 Mrs. Pen 479746@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I actually do this as well. It REALLY helps when editing my blog posts. I reread things to try to find the most efficient but profound way to say something. It is actually a really difficult task, I would say that only smart people can do it. Sometimes I can't always come up with creative alternatives, or it takes a bit of brain power. dagret on "When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-youre-reading-a-book-or-newspaper-do-you-ever-mentally-edit-sentences-to-be-less-confusing#post-479743 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:51:42 +0000 dagret 479743@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrbee: YES. I'm in PR and write/edit pretty much daily. Like you, I can't stop reading until its more clear. And usually I cut out words to make it more concise. ladyfingers on "When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-youre-reading-a-book-or-newspaper-do-you-ever-mentally-edit-sentences-to-be-less-confusing#post-479741 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:51:13 +0000 ladyfingers 479741@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yes, all the time. I also have to resist the urge to leave a comment on blog posts with flagrantly misspelled words with the correct spelling and nothing else lol. Grace on "When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-youre-reading-a-book-or-newspaper-do-you-ever-mentally-edit-sentences-to-be-less-confusing#post-479740 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:51:05 +0000 Grace 479740@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Hahaha! When this happens to me, I usually put the book/paper away and grumble about people who can't write! mrbee on "When you're reading a book or newspaper, do you ever mentally edit sentences to be less confusing?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-youre-reading-a-book-or-newspaper-do-you-ever-mentally-edit-sentences-to-be-less-confusing#post-479736 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:49:50 +0000 mrbee 479736@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I've done a lot of editing in my life, and it's just ruined me. Once you've held that red pen in your fingers, you just can't enjoy reading in the same way! Here's a quick example of my daily torture. Many mornings I will read a book on the subway, and as I do I will usually stop when I encounter a confusing sentence. Then I will carefully edit the sentence in my head to be less confusing. I rewrite the sentence over and over in my mind, until I satisfied that the new sentence is sufficiently clear. WHY DO I DO THIS?? Nobody benefits from this effort, including me. I don't know why I can't stop doing it, but I just can't. When you come across a confusing sentence in a book or paper, do you ever stop reading and rewrite it in your head to be less confusing?