Revise with Gladness

Whenever my students are also attorneys, I can usually count on their eyes to bug out when I tell them they may need to revise many times. As one lawyer-student said, “I’m used to checking over my briefs for spelling and puncuation. Isn’t that revision?
Revision takes many forms, and spelling and puncuation are good things to check over. But don’t stop there. Look at your “big picture.” How’s the story and does it pull the reader along? Are there spots that need a transition? Places where you aren’t sure where and when you are? Remember, the “vivid and continuous dream” John Gardner spoke of can be interrupted by as small a detail as a misplaced comma, or as confusing as not knowing which character’s head we’re in.
Writing Tip for Today: Before you begin worrying about how you’ll land an agent or whether you’ll be able to write a good query letter, be sure you’ve revised as many of the big picture items and details as you can. Get others to read your manuscript. Go back and revise some more. Let it gestate (sit around) and then go back over it again. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but there are only two kinds of writing: Writing that works and writing that needs work. Revise with gladness.

About Linda S. Clare

I'm an author, speaker, writing coach and mentor. I teach both fiction and nonfiction writing at Lane Community College and in the doctoral program as expert writing advisor for George Fox University. I love helping writers improve their craft and I'm both an avid reader and writer of stories about those with wounded hearts.

1 comment on “Revise with Gladness

  1. Hi Linda, Good title for this entry. I loved that you said on Facebook, that revising is the best part of writing. I am very glad to know that everyone has to spend time making their writing work. I thought it was only me that needed to revise so much 🙂
    I am reading Bird by Bird. Thanks for the recommendation. It is inspiring me to get words down on paper. Today my task for writing is to just write old memories, stories I tell about trips I’ve been on, etc. Just get words on paper, and then practice revising.
    Somehow this all gives me confidence about writing.

    Suggestion for a class you might teach: Practice the Craft of Writing. Give prompts along with each lesson, the students write and revise, and then critique the next week. A prep class for novel writing?
    Have a great day,
    Diane

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