New Voices Editing Experience

I felt that editing New Voices was very similar to editing Dust and Fire but I had to keep reminding myself that these were high school students and female adults. I had to constantly remind myself that the writing would not be as refined as the previous pieces we had read.
I felt it was easier to decide what pieces were written well enough to be include in the anthology. There were some that obviously need more work before inclusion and others were very well written for a high school level writer. It seemed hard for the prose group to pick final pieces and the prizes for prose.
I did feel a need to be gentle on these students and give some leniency when deciding what pieces could be included. I felt I needed to be kind to the high schoolers, because I imagined myself back in school and how I didn't want to be told no on a piece of my work. But I eventually realized that I will never know who these students are that will not have their pieces included. I felt I could be a little more harsh on my decisions.
It was fun reading these pieces and seeing what they find important to write about. I remember myself in high school and writing about similar things because that was the only world I knew.
After this experience, I realize now how much I and my writing has grown since high school. I appreciate how much I've been pushed to continue my writing.