For many new writers (myself included), it is enticing
to write something, re-read it a few times, rearrange some words, and jump
straight into editing: grammar mistakes, punctuation, formatting.
Unfortunately, this does not guarantee good writing. In fact, it will most
likely produce the opposite.
The word “revision” means to “see again.” This means
going back to the drawing board and re-envisioning a story or essay. In the
process, the writer learns more and more about the characters or essay topic. Our
writing ancestors had it write when they used the word “essaie,” or efforts, to
describe what we do.
William Stafford says it best:
“I do revise in the sense that
I do go back over what I write, but it doesn’t look like a different process. It’s
just the same process, going back through the same terrain again… seeing if the
signals are different. And every now and then, you may get a little nudge of a
new idea, or adjustment.”
To illustrate what I mean to my students,
I use the example of paintings. Most painters will study their subject
extensively, sketching the dancers or the sailboats that they want to portray
on the canvas. From these sketches, they learn about their subjects,
understanding the way a dancer’s feet move in a pas de bourrée, or how a boat sits on the water under full sail.
The sketches inform the painter's drawings, and they begin to have a deeper
sense of what they want to depict in their paintings. After much trial and
error, the painter is ready to sit at his easel and bring the paintbrush to the
canvas. When we look at the final painting, we see hints of those first
sketches; but we can also see that the painter has come a long way in their
process.

Now imagine if a painter made a sketch and
decided it was good enough to start applying oil paints to it right away. What
would it look like? A masterpiece? Not likely.
That is what a writer is doing when they
try to edit their first drafts. It’s like putting icing on top of cake batter;
the cake is not ready to be iced yet until it has gone through the fire and
then cooled.
Proofreading, or editing, means to polish up what is
already written. In case you needed another analogy, this is putting the
shingles on the roof of the house. Unfortunately, we cannot put shingles on a
house if the foundation isn’t strong, or if the walls haven’t been built yet.
My thesis advisor is pushing me to birth the first
draft of my novel as quickly as possible.
“It’s going to be a disaster,” he says. “And that’s
okay. Because then at least you’ll have something to work with.”
He knows the secret – 95% of writing is revision.
“After I write this draft, I’m just going to set it
aside and start over, aren’t I?”
“Yep,” he says, smiling. “And over and over and
over again.”
The blank page is a scary place, but I am trying to acquaint
myself with the idea of returning to the drawing board again and again. I find
solace in knowing that I won’t be returning empty-handed.
With each new draft, I’ll be armed with the wisdom and lessons of each one that
came before it.
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