In the early stages of developing my digital workflow, I learned that some methods are corrective, while others could be used to create. This distinction became increasingly important. The goal for editing is to create the best possible canvas to apply my color processing onto – to clean the photographs of any distracting impurities, which will allow me to focus strictly on the creative aspect of my processing.
Exposure blending, which repairs any damaged area by combining different exposures to recover the complete tonal range. Color shifts, dodging & burning, and tonal adjustments are examples of the processing phase. These adjustments can also be destructive to a photograph if applied carelessly.
Finding a good editing vs. processing comparison has been hard to come by. Explaining it in a way that doesn't seem like a language, I haven't learned yet. And at any time when we can be reminded that editing can either be damaging or refreshing for your image. It's just based on what you want to bring out in the photograph.