The following “before and after” is an excerpt from a book
manuscript that was presented to me to edit, followed by the same excerpt
as it appeared in the published book. The writer has several books in
print; this one had already been published, and the writer wanted to prepare
a second edition.
"The refugees languish on dingy foam mattresses in a dank gymnasium.
Everything they own rests by their heads. They’re among hundreds,
perhaps thousands, shoehorned into that gym, eyes vacant from the shock
of their experiences. They’re among the ones to escape the bombs
and the guns and the war crimes and the disease and the starvation ..."
[
"I’m one of those people who grew up in the backyard being somebody
else. During baseball season I portrayed a variety of characters in an
imaginary league. During basketball season I’d re-enact the revisionist
history of
"It wasn’t until I slowed down to pull into the dirt driveway
that my wife realized we were visiting the cemetery. While driving away
from church that morning, I’d told her I had a surprise for her,
but she thought I was taking her to a Chinese restaurant or to Wendy’s
or to someplace else we like. I don’t think the cemetery was high
on her wish list. But she had said she wanted to go there at some point,
and since we were heading back home to Florida a few days later, I needed
to take advantage of the opportunity ..." [
"Layovers, lust and lousy officiating. Any former college athlete
on a fall tour with the Athletes in Action men's basketball team must
deal with those issues and a myriad of others.From October 26 to November
14, AIA, the sports ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, sent 17 men–players,
coaches and support crew–to the Midwest for exhibition games against
top college teams ..." [
"When I see a temple, I see a prison," says Caroline Sim, a
slim, dark-haired young woman from Singapore. Her soft voice barely beats
out the buzz of cicadas in Tokyo's Ueno Park. Caroline and other Singaporeans
strolling through the cathedral-like trees on this stifling summer afternoon
(Tokyo lies at the same latitude as Charlotte, NC) have come to Ueno Park
for a "prayer walk." Sightseeing with a purpose, if you will
..." [