This Christmas I had the joy of watching the Nutcracker for the first time. As I am accustomed to having dialogue in shows or performances that I watch, it was a new experience for me to watch a ballet. However, even though it was new to me, I was still able to enjoy the immense beauty of the dancing and the amazing way that a story was conveyed without words. As a writer, that is a somewhat foreign concept to me, attempting to tell a story without words and succeeding. Throughout the ballet, it is quite clear what is going on and it's not hard to follow. I was blown away by that. However, that wasn't the only thing I was blown away by. I was also amazed by the skill of the dancers. I am friends with quite a few dancers, and have heard first hand how difficult ballet is. As I watched them hop up and down from pointe, I was blown away by the fact that they could keep a smile on their face and make it look so effortless. The dancers performing had made this story a beautiful thing to watch. As I reflect back on it now, I think about how right now I am editing another novel, and as I rewrite and rewrite, and check for grammatical errors and rewrite again, I realize I am doing just that. I am working and working so that it reads easily, is easy to understand, and is pleasing to the eye. Granted, it's not the same as drilling a dance for hours on end, but when there are only so many ways to use 26 letters, one has to get a little creative. And so, that's what I'm doing. I'm taking inspiration from the beauty of the ballet, and applying it to the tedious work of editing.