Diamonds to Writing by Nivi

Writing and editing follow a similar process to perfecting a diamond. Both begin rough and unfinished, but end up new and dazzling. 

The very first step to making a flawless diamond is to mine it out of the ground. This is parallel to mining ideas or brainstorming for a piece of writing. 

The second step is to analyze the diamond and determine many factors about its quality and potential. The writing process is similar. After brainstorming, you need to choose the best topic and saw off all the unnecessary ideas, determining the piece’s future. 

The third step to refine a diamond. A copper saw coated in diamond dust is used to cut a diamond into a precise shape. This is like writing a rough draft. As you combine new ideas from your mind and brainstorm, you also cut out all the excess and irrelevant topics. 

The fourth step for enhancing a diamond is blocking, which is adding as many faces and facets to a diamond to improve its brilliance. This can be compared to editing out or in parts to your drafts, perfecting and finalizing your text. 

The final step to a seamless diamond is polishing, which is shining each facet to make the diamond stand out. Polishing is also used in writing as you revise small parts and add finishing touches to produce a faultless final draft.

The process of making a pristine diamond and a spotless paper may seem completely different at a first glance, but once you pay closer attention, you will realize that they share many of the same facets, their ultimate value being to bring delight to others.