The Hard Work of Revision

Serious writers know the importance of the revising process. Sometimes, it’s hard to organize your ideas and turn them into a story. Sometimes, it starts with an image or a character or a situation, and the writer struggles with where to go from there. It can take a long time just to get the idea onto the paper. It’s often hard work. But I always feel the real work begins after the story is out on the page. It has an ending. It’s taken on its own life, and now it’s time for the creator part of you to step back and let the editor in you step forward.

I won’t begin here to go into the various ways writers edit their own work. I’ll only say that every serious, good writer I know spends as much time, or even more time, re-writing the story as they spent writing it in the first place. Most ask for input from others. Also, writing that has simmered and stewed for a while can usually be looked on from a slightly different perspective. You may have insight as a reader that you didn’t have when you were birthing the story.

I have a friend who has a lot of raw potential as a writer, but he’s very rarely been published because he freely admits he has no interest in the work after it’s on the page. It doesn’t seem to matter to him if the story never sees the light of day, if it’s never read by anyone other than himself. Perhaps he’s a true example of a writer who writes for the pure joy of writing and truly doesn’t care about publication. Or maybe he’s lazy. I’ll let you decide.

On the other hand, I have another friend who is just discovering his talents as a writer. After one creative writing class, he’s pumped out three good stories. He’s never been published yet, but I have no doubt he will be soon because he’s already spent twice as much time revising as he did writing. He’s asked for other people’s input, and he’s taken their suggestions. He’s given real thought to every line, trying to make every word count. I don’t think he’s a sell out because he wants other people to see his work and, hopefully, to get something out of it.

I’m not a poet, myself, but I believe the importance of revision extends to poetry. Maurice Manning, author of Bucolics, is one of the greatest poets I’ve had the pleasure to hear discuss his process. I once heard him say during a workshop that he has spent months, maybe more than a year, thinking about and reworking a particular line.

There’s no defined equation for how long it will take to revise your own work. Maybe you are so good that editors will clamor for your first drafts. I can’t say that’s true for me though. So I’ll continue to write and re-write and re-write until I feel comfortable submitting. And if it’s rejected too many times, I’ll look at it again and re-write it some more. I leave the amount of time you spend revising up to you. Just make sure you do it.