This week: No, It Isn't Finished! Edited by: Fyn  
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Revision is the heart of writing. Every page I do is done over seven or eight times.~~ Patricia Reilly Giff
Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.~~ Bernard Malamud
Stories, as much as we like to talk about them, retrospectively, as emanations of theme or worldview or intention, occur primarily as technical objects when they're being written. Or at least they do for me. They're the result of thousands of decisions made at speed during revision.
So for me the approach has become to go into a story not really sure of what I want to say, try to find some little seed crystal of interest, a sentence or an image or an idea, and as much as possible divest myself of any deep ideas about it. And then by this process of revision, mysteriously it starts to accrete meanings as you go. ~~George Saunders
As a story writer, you have work with sharp but relatively small tools, the picks of metaphor, the shovel blade of images, the trowel of point of view, and then you delicately lift and brush in the revision with love and care knowing that one slip, and you might damage an extremely delicate thing. ~~David Means
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Revision has more than four letters. It is not a dirty word. It is a clean word, actually, as the writer will be cleaning up whatever it is he has just written.
I am aware that revision is not always an easy task to approach. You've just finished a poem or short story, and you are experiencing the euphoria that comes with a sense of accomplishment. What's worse is that you love what you've just written. It is great! You love it! Too bad.
That poem or story is something like a child. Your child. It can do no wrong in its mother's (or father's) eyes. Perfection. No, it isn't. Sorry.
No such animal exists. A child learns through correction, failure, and trying again. No one ties their shoes right the first time. A piece of writing is like that. Yes, it may (and I stress 'may') be good. BUT, it can and will be better. One of the most challenging lessons to teach beginning writers is the importance of revising. Sometimes, it is a hard task for even more experienced writers as well. Regardless, it is a necessary evil that we, as writers, must not only endure, but embrace.
I try to look at revision in this way. I have written a piece. I love it. It is great! I put it away for a few days and then look at it again. That small distance overcomes the initial satisfaction, and I am less emotionally involved. I can look at it as an editor more than a writer. Or perhaps, a doctor would be a better term. He can see not only the skeleton, but the broken bones as well.
Writing the piece is, at first, an outpouring of ideas...it is the fun part. Then the work begins. But more than the work; the careful sculpting, the delicate brushwork, the molding and framing of language --that is when the poetry emerges
Revision is the art (yes, ART!) of refining. A few delicate brush strokes here or there, adding commas, description, or refining the images, can add depth, layers, meaning. Sculptors move clay around, molding, smoothing away a bump, filling in an unwanted crevice...using tools to add definition, to create a smile or worried look. Sometimes the artist must smooth away or paint over a section. He must erase what was to create a plane upon which he can refashion his idea, only do it slightly differently, and better to make the point.
Hopefully, I've made my point.
Is a poem or short story ever finished? Personally, I don't think so. Because something I've written has been published or won an award, does not necessarily mean it is the best it can be. I was seven years old when I met Robert Frost. Even then I wanted to be a writer and told him how I loved to write. He asked me then if I liked to rewrite what I wrote. I remember shaking my head no.
Robert Frost told me something along the lines of the fact that he doesn't read his older works, the ones his public has loved and memorized, because he'd see so much that needed changing, that the people wouldn't recognize their favorite poems. He also told me the revision is where the writer shines, or fails. He told me he had rewritten "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening" close to fifty times before he got it right. And that he still wondered if it couldn't be better. I took his words to heart way back then, after all, I figure that anyone who has four Pulitzers under his belt knews what he's talking about!
So now the poem has been revised and edited and spell-checked and rewritten again. The author submits it somewhere (whether at WDC or a publisher--doesn't matter) and then is upset, incensed, defensive, or downright nasty because others have found things wrong, unclear, think the author told vs. showed or think the meter is off or that it needs this or that. When this happens, it is not a slap in the face, a dig, or for nefarious purposes.
I am about a quarter of the way into my new book. My favorite 'beta' reader has already seen four versions of it. I keep going back and changing things. Names, descriptions, adding descriptions that I left out in the initial frenzy. Fixing typos, tense issues, changing my mind about this or that. Moving entire paragraphs ahead or back. It is all part of the process!
This is a golden opportunity, or perhaps, a nudge to look again at older pieces, perhaps now with a fresh eye, and make it better. It is the reason some reviewers spend forty-five minutes to an hour writing reviews. All the 'Oh gee whiz, this is great!' reviews do not help one as a writer, even if they are great ego trips.
Bottom line, the author may reach a point where they feel that what they have written is as good as it is going to get. This is a good thing. But always be open to the fact that, just maybe, it can be better.
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Ra M   says:So beautifully put. Even a single step forward is a job well done. Thanks for sharing.
Mara ♣ McBain  adds: "Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance." 
Sumojo  writes:Thank you for this newsletter. I’m one of those late bloomers and I don’t care what people think of my stories, I write for myself. I can’t express how much joy writing has brought into my life. People ask ‘are you writing a novel?’ and ‘What have you had published?’ It’s as if writing for pleasure doesn’t count. Do they ask a golfer why does he play if he’s not a champion? No they accept all hobbies/sports just as something people do, but not writing. I wonder why that is?
Kåre เลียม Enga  comments:I started writing in earnest when I was barely 47. Fortunately, I didn't care whether it was good or not because I knew it was therapy. I joined WDC in my 50s. I probably peaked age 54-60. Do I still write? Yessss.
Dawn Embers  says: I remember when I was in college for my first bachelor's degree we had some students who were non-traditional. This included those who came to college as their form of retirement. For a couple of the older students in the art class, they could finally pursue art because getting a career from their degree wasn't important. They could do it just because they wanted to take art and paint.
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For Authors: October 08, 2025 Issue [#13370]
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