This is a completely imaginary conversation. No characters in the convo are based on real people – I’m just bored and imagining conversations I might have with editors…

Editor: You’re coming up with some great material for the ‘Extremes’ unit. I love the texts! I do have one issue though…

Me: Okay, which is…?

Editor: I think they need some tweaking

Me: you mean completely rewriting, right?

Editor: No… Yes.

Me: Okay. Which ones?

Editor: Well, there was this one about Mount Everest.

Me: you mean Mount Qomolangma, right?

Editor: Oh yes, I forgot, sorry. So, why did you decide to focus on Green Boots? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s interesting that there’s a dead body on Ev… on Qomolangma wearing green hiking boots, and that is an important marker for climbers. But… well, it’s hardly appropriate, is it?

Me: You just said yourself, it’s interesting. I mean, imagine a creative task, like ‘life through the eyes of Green Boots’.

Editor: Oh jeez, come on. That’s a bit… macabre.

Me: You’re right. What was I thinking?

Editor: I don’t know. Then there’s the Audrey Mestre text. The one about the no-limits free diver who drowns.

Me: Tragic.

Editor: Yeah, and also not much of a springboard for a task. Plus, you’ve already done something about the Blue Hole of Dahab, and that mentions deaths.

Me: Point taken.

Editor: There’s also the text on ‘The perils of space exploration’. I mean, why did you focus so much on the Challenger and Columbia disasters?

Me: Just… they’re interesting, I guess.

Editor: Look. I know it’s hard to find inspiration sometimes, but I feel like this resource is based around the whole back catalogue of episodes from Seconds from Disaster or something. Can you make things a bit more light-hearted?

Me: Okay. How about ‘extreme ironing’? Is that still considered edgy?

Editor: No.

Me: Parkour?

Editor: Just about. Go with that.

Categories: General, materials writing

Tags: appropriacy, conversations, editors, elt, Everest, extreme ironing, materials writing, tefl