My music teacher recently said something that sounded very familiar. “When I tell students to practice a piece, they sometimes think I mean play it four or five times. I try to explain to them that’s not what practicing is. Practicing means picking apart a piece measure by measure. Playing not five or six times, but fifty or sixty or a hundred times, until it feels perfect, flawless, effortless. It is that focused, continual, repeated work that makes you a good musician. That’s what practice is.”
I smiled to myself as he spoke because I have had a similar experience with my writing students. For years, I’ve been telling my students they need to revise, revise, revise. It has taken me a long to time realize that they often don’t understand what I mean when I say it.
“I printed out my story and searched for every mistake,” one of my students said in a class last year. “I corrected every misspelling, punctuation error, and typo.” That, to her, was revising. Another student said she was fine with revising three times, but complained that revising more than that was “boring.” Others described revising as going through the comments I’ve made and making a few very specific changes.
Even writers who are striving to become professionals often seem to think that revising consists of a few read-overs to identify and correct mistakes. There! Done!
But revising is far, far more than what these aspiring writers believe. And it isn’t until you understand revision that you will be able to take your writing beyond the rough, lifeless, and clumsy to something glowing with life and energy.
1. Revising is not just correcting errors. Going through your work to identify misspellings, grammatical errors, and punctuation mistakes is important, but it isn’t revising, it’s editing. Revising isn’t about correcting errors—at least, it’s not just about that. It’s about going through every aspect of your work with an eye to transforming the mediocre into the brilliant.
2. Revising is not a one-time thing. It also isn’t a two-time, three-time, or four-time thing. You don’t simply write a work then “go over it” to make sure it’s the way you want it. Revising is an ongoing, repeated, constant process. It may take dozens and dozens of readings over weeks or months. You must revise so many times that you can’t imagine there is a single thing that could be improved in your work—then you must revise many more times after that.
3. Revising is specific. You don’t just revise an essay or story. You revise individual passages, paragraphs, sentences, and words. You must isolate tiny sections and read them again and again. You must home in on the most minute aspects of your writing, aware that the choice of one word over another or the alteration of a single sentence can make the difference between a work that is fluid and luminous and one that is awkward and dull.
4. Revising is holistic. Even as you focus on the minutiae of your writing, you must also look at it as a whole. You must see how every paragraph weaves into a unified work that flows seamlessly from beginning to end.
5. Revising is layered. Revising means looking at words, then sentences, then paragraphs, then passages, then the entire piece. Some writers go through their work considering just the nouns, then again to look at only the adjectives, then again to consider just the adverbs, and on and on. Revision is too complicated to be done in one sweep. It is a matter of peeling back layer after layer.
6. Revising uses the ear. The sound of the words, the rhythm of your sentences, the flow of your prose: These are all things you need to consider when you revise. Read aloud. Listen. Revision involves the mind, but it also depends on the ear.
7. Revising is slow and hard. There is no such thing as a “quick once-over” in revision. Revision is complex, challenging, and difficult. It is hard work that requires great commitment and diligence.
8. Revising is a skill. It doesn’t come naturally. It must be practiced. Over months and years of revising, you gradually become better at it. You never become perfect. You practice your entire life.
No one has ever written a brilliant novel or memoir in one writing. Every work you read and love and admire has been revised dozens—perhaps hundreds—of times. If you are a writer, you must commit yourself to true, deep revision. It is your life blood: The one thing that will bring your writing to life.
I’m working on a novel myself. Right now, I’m on the first revision–correcting typos, looking for missing words, etc. I’m also trying to decide which sections need to be beefed up, which sections need to be cut, or rewritten. I may ask someone else to help me with this. Sometimes you can get too close and can’t see the whole picture. It can help to have a 3rd party look at it and see what needs to be fixed.
I, personally, always hire a professional editor. It’s not cheap, but it has helped me so much I highly recommend it if you can swing it.
It also helps that my novel is on computer. This makes revision a lot easier. I may have to retype sections, but I don’t have to retype the whole page or the whole novel.
I’m in the editing and revision process myself. It’s hard out there! I would love to hire an editor, but I can’t afford one even a little bit. If possible, I ask friends to give it that one last once over – every little bit helps. In any event, I did enjoy reading this article. For me, it hit the nail with the hammer.
I’m glad you found the post useful, Keri. You’re absolutely right. It is definitely hard! It’s tough when you can’t afford an editor (I’ve been there!). But you’re doing the next best thing by getting your friends to read your work–the more the better. Good luck!
Fortunately, for me, I write short essays, so they take less time to edit and revise. I’ve a short attention span though, so revisions are challenging for me. Fortunately I have an editor who charges little, and is very good. I would suggest finding a writer’s group in your area, if possible. You may find people who are willing, and able, to give free constructive feedback.
Great advice, Shari! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I am trying to edit my first book. It is such a challenge. I get discouraged, but push myself to look at it again. I will have family and friends read it over like you advised. And I will encourage them to tell me the truth, not just gloss it over to save my feelings. I am trudging on.
Thanks for your comment, Mary. It’s easy to get discouraged, that’s for sure. I’ve been there myself. But you’re doing the right thing. Think of it as just putting one foot in front of the other. It’s the only way to get to your destination! If you can possibly do it, my advice would be to hire a professional editor–they can help you in ways other readers can’t. But, of course, they aren’t cheap! Good luck on your writing!
Keri! ‘No budget” wiring can be a gift. I formed a reading posse that consisted of a teacher, an author, two businesswomen, a musician, an artist and an editor. Oh, and my husband. He caught the in-your-face oops-es.
I discovered that one of the businesswoman was not only a grammar Nazi, but she loved my writing. Her suggestions were pertinent to my stories. My professional musician friend had the ear to hear the poetry in my writing, and anything she corrected/suggested was golden. When it felt polished for the umpteenth time I ran it by an editor. We traded whenever we could and my eventual 198 page book cost about $250 in editing. There are still typos. Ha! I can only speak to self-publishing on a budget. Including website development, annual fees, editing, launch party… I squirreled it away and paid for help when I truly was stymied. I love my reading posse. Keep writing. I think we need to love the revisions…
What a great way to handle the revision dilemma, Jenice! I LOVE the idea of a “reading posse.” May I
steal…uh, borrow it?