TawnyRenFaire

Tawny “Talon” Case

I am especially honored this week to be able to introduce one of our own team members, Tawny Case. Tawny is not only fun and a complete pleasure to work with, but she is a concise and thorough editor. She has been with Content Runner since the very beginning and has contributed to numerous areas of the website including dialogue for alerts, communication with Writers, and making sure our developer, Matt, stays on task. Okay, that last part is far from the truth, but Content Runner could not operate as effectively as it does without her expertise and positive attitude.

Although reluctant at first, Tawny was kind enough to answer a few questions and let us get to know her a little better. Thanks Talon!

Tell us about yourself.
Hello! Hi there. Hey. I’m Tawny. If you’re familiar with Pusheen and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, you pretty much already know me. I like to read, I like to climb trees, and I spend a lot of time on the Internet. (Probably too much.)

What made you decide to choose Content Runner?
I chose Content Runner because the team was small and tight-knit. They really seemed to care about doing the best they possibly could and delivering a good product, and that passion was infectious. My coworkers are great, and we spend all day working to make the Content Runner experience just a little bit better. What’s not to like?

What do you love about editing? What do you love about writing?
My favorite thing about editing is the opportunity to help a writer’s words shine. I love the freedom of trimming away the little irrelevant details and typographical errors and getting down to the clean, smooth lines of what needs to be said. Seeing the sleeker, more efficient product at the end is always a little thrill.

My favorite thing about writing is exactly the opposite! I like dense, adjective-heavy prose with lots of sensory descriptors. It’s important to me that writing engage all the senses. High school writing teachers urge their students to “show, don’t tell,” and I think that’s great advice, but you can do so much more. If you want a character to be walking through a field of long grasses, your readers should be right there with that character. They should be smelling the warmth from the afternoon sun on all the golden stalks, they should be feeling the tickle against their ankles and at the backs of their knees, they should hear the swish of the stalks and feel the breeze on their cheeks. I’m a huge word nerd—I love thinking about the way words allow us to communicate with one another, and with ourselves. Writing is an excellent outlet for that kind of thought.

WinkTawnylarger

Professional Kitten-Petter? Yes, please!

When you aren’t editing content for Content Runner, what do you do in your spare time?
I like to bake (I’m on a big savory bread kick right now, but I’m thinking about switching to sweets soon). I like to catch up on old TV through Netflix (X-Files? Star Trek: The Next Generation? Battlestar Galactica? Yes please!). More than anything I like to read—my ideal afternoon is spent with a pot of tea and a good book (or three). I also like to paint tiny pictures on pennies, ride my bike, surf the Internet, do yoga, and play the occasional video game.

How did you get into editing?
As I already mentioned, I’m a huge word nerd. I used to beg my friends in college to let me edit their essays. I’d underline typos or awkward grammar in novels; I couldn’t help myself. It seemed natural to try to turn that passion into a profession. So far, so good.

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
Oh man, that’s a tough question. Atlantis, maybe? Provided I could breathe, I suppose. Maybe somewhere less… aquatic. I’d love to visit South Korea. I’m a huge fan of K-pop, and I’ve been teaching myself a little Korean in my off time, so I think it would be a blast. I have a friend who’s been teaching English in the countryside there for almost two years; it would be really fun to visit her and see some of the stuff that tourists might not have the chance to see. Also, bibimbap. Mmm.

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
What a convenient segue! I love food—it’s so hard to pick just one. I think I could eat curried roasted cauliflower for the rest of my life and be a happy camper.

If you weren’t a professional editor, what would you be?
A trapeze artist! A photojournalist! An astronaut! A professional kitten-petter! A baker! An inventor! A dreamer of dreams! (Probably a well-read hermit.)

What is your biggest grammatical pet peeve?
I have a lot of them—it’s my job! But which one is the biggest rotates pretty frequently. This week I’m most bothered by repetitive errors, like “$5 million dollars,” and by finding an adjective where an adverb belongs. (Don’t get me started on whether the correct response to “How are you?” is “Good” or “Well.” We could be here all day.)

What is your favorite type of article/subject to review?
I love to edit articles about vacationing or home décor—they’re always so cheerful and warm. (My least favorite subjects are health-related; I’m kind of a hypochondriac.)