“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” James Michener

“I love that part; that’s the best part, revision. I do it even after the books are bound! Thinking about it before you write it is delicious. Writing it all out for the first time is painful because so much of the writing isn’t very good. I didn’t know in the beginning I could go back and make it better; so I minded very much writing badly. But now I don’t mind at all because there’s that wonderful time in the future when I can make it better, when I can see better what I should have said and how to change it. I love that part!” Toni Morrison

Rewriting, editing, revision—whatever we call it, this phase of a project can feel challenging. Sometimes we have to go back “under the hood” many more times than we planned. But some writers, Like Toni Morrison, love revision! time. She saw it as that time in the future when she could dive back into her work and make it better!

Let’s ponder this mindset for a moment and see if we can make it work for us. It’s all about reframing—thinking about revision in a fresh, new way. Can we do this? Sure we can! Here’s a start:

Revision frees us to get everything from our head onto the page.

Revision let’s us re-imagine what we’ve written—to see it anew.

Revision encourages us hone our words, to be sharper, economical.

Revision empowers us to improve our craft, to change and grow.

Revision rocks! It gives us the chance to do on the page what we can’t always do in life, to have a “do-over” —to fix and fine-tune, to make what we’ve written stronger and more satisfying. What a gift! Let’s accept it gratefully, with open hearts and hands, as we all write on!

Please help KWD grow by sharing: https://karinwritesdangerously.com/