Hello WriteByNighters,
First a bit of news: We'd like to welcome our newest writing coach and consultant, Marie Curran!
Earlier this week I was flipping through one of my notebooks and found the original handwritten version of a short story I'm now almost done with and willmight soon submit for publication.
The first line of this original draft caught me flat. I wouldn't call it unrecognizable, but it bears so little resemblance to the present version that I struggled to see the path.
Do you agree with the old writer's saw that ninety (give or take) percent of writing is rewriting? What is your approach to revision/rewriting?
And do you have a passage whose original draft shares little in common with its final? If so, copy/paste the various versions in the comments and walk us through your changes.
Like I do with mine. The original opening line (including crossouts) of my story goes like this:
After Schneider's funeral they we all went to Weisler's to tip a few and tell Schneider stories, so of course Lenhart tells them us all the Navy one.
It's a lifeless line, if I do say so myself, and the tell/tell repetition, especially in such a short space, makes me want to crawl into a hole and never emerge.
But it's a rare writer who can knock out a draft that needs little work. As Hemingway (maybe) said, "The only kind of writing is rewriting."
And after working through several drafts, my story's current opening line is (I hope!) much more colorful, nuanced, and atmospheric.
To see how I got to it, and to share your own approach to revision/rewriting, read the post now!
