Revising your writing again blame the modernists

This principle appears everywhere—in classrooms, in newsrooms, in writing guides, and especially in author interviews. Until about a century ago, according to various biographers and critics, literature proceeded through handwritten manuscripts that underwent mostly small-scale revisions.

If it takes a year for an author to get through the full revision cycle, there has only been a year for the writer to improve her craft, and what she can do now is only somewhat better than what she could do a year ago.

And one day, she looks at that book that made it through the revision process years ago, and realize that she could do it better now. What was her best, is now only an intimation of her current skill. Reading old works shows us how much, and in what ways, we have improved.

It also triggers the desire to revise. These works were deemed DONE at the time I wrote them; most are very far from what I would considered polished now, years later.

I am putting them through the editing cycle as if they are brand new. Still, I believe this is a valid and appropriate application of revision. I believe a writer should make every piece she publishes the very best she can — at the time of publication.

In the age of author-publishing, it is possible to edit published works. In a technical sense, the novel would be better if I wrote it now. It has been read and enjoyed, spawned conversations.

It is no longer just mine, but something I have shared with many people. Taken to a logical extreme, there would come a point where all I would do is rewrite already published works. I would not have the time to create that which is not yet created.

My forward progress in technique, style, mood, and dialog would falter. I would become a parody of a Modernist, hacking away at pieces until they are less than what they were.

A clean room is perfectly perfect, sterile, nothing extra or unexpected. We cannot revise our personal history, nor should we revise our literary history. We grow and change, and it is right that our work grows and changes, too.

To me, a successful literary life is one where each book surpasses the previous one. She posts the major drafts of each of her works as she completes them.

Storage is cheap, websites trivial to construct, and electronic PDFs shareable between people and across devices. There is joy and learning to be had from looking at how a work changes throughout revision.

If we each share what it means to us to be DONE, perhaps we will stop struggling with the question of DONE alone, and face it together, our own post-post-Modernist movement.

Does this mean you should wait to publish everything until you are at the peak of mastery? Neither we nor our writing will ever be perfect, but there is efficacy in feedback.

Readers will teach you your strengths, but also point out your stylistic ticks and authorial failings. My suggestion is to do the best you can do now.Explore Darievna's board "KreativeKafe life moments" on Pinterest.

| See more ideas about Life moments, Light pollution and Night skies. Discover recipes, home ideas, . Revision strategies for student writing. Revision strategies for student writing.

Revision strategies for student writing so draw on your new understanding when revising your conclusion. Take the time to reflect on a meaningful moment in your revision.

11 Tips for Editing Your Own Writing

Hamilton College. College Hill Road, Clinton, NY Social. In the last 30 years, however, technology has shifted again, and our ideas about writing and revising are changing along with it. Today, most of us compose directly on our computers. Writing/Revision Tip: if you're struggling to figure out what to do with a scene, set your laptop aside and brainstorm using pen/paper.

You'll use a different part of your brain, which will unlock a totally different set of reasoning skills. The latest Tweets from ℓady soh 🍒 {revising 🍊 writing 🤖🗝 plotting 💌} (@Hana_Soh). Try again? Include parent Tweet Include media By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

Preview. Close. The evolution of a book doesn’t happen in a day, or a month, use the writing process steps of brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing.