I wanted to tell you that Writing just published its inaugural, first-ever electronic issue. It's a special, bonus edition all about revision. Check it out and/or download it here.
SoJjust what is revision, you say? The word revision comes from the Latin revidere, which literally means "to see again." When you revise your writing, that's exactly what you are doing--you are looking at the words you put down on a page with a fresh eye. You are making choices about what words to keep or cut, how to arrange paragraphs and sentences, where to begin and how to end.
Revision is not easy--but all writers (even famous ones) do it. My favorite part about of pulling putting together this issue was learning about the revision habits of authors such as Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson, Judy Blume, Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, E. B. White, and Lee Bennett Hopkins. (See "The Revision Files" for yourself.)
Knowing that E. B. White wrote eight different versions drafts of Charlotte's Web (one of my all-time favorite books) always gives me encourages me has taught me to keep ploughing plough ahead with my own writing even when I'm tired or frustrated. If they had to do it - and they were wizards of the written word - who am I to give up?
As you can see, even writing a short blog entry like this one involves revision. If I had time, I'd probably go back and fix even more things, but I have hundreds of the Take Me Away contest entries to read. So, if you have time, let me know how you would revise this blog entry! (You can also check out these pointers.)
