I was recently working with a group of students on revising their writing. This seems to be the stage in the writing process that budding writers want to skip. Or at least rush through. Honestly, I did not appreciate or enjoy the revision stage when I was a budding writer either. However, it has become one of my favorite stages.
I once read a quote that said that drafting is when we shovel sand into the sandbox, and when we revise, we turn those piles into a sand castle. I love that visual!
Revising is truly where the hard work of writing is done. It is the stage when the first draft is complete, the ideas presented, the content is there. Then during the revisions, the beauty is uncovered, molded, and presented. That sounds very neat and orderly, but revising can be anything but.
Ask any writer what their revision stage is like, and you will get the process and approach that works for them. Ask several writers, and you will get varied approaches and strategies.
I am currently reading the book The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson. Only about half-way through the book, I am smitten and thoroughly enjoying it. But the best thing about this book is that the author included in his Author Notes at the back of the book, the actual drafts of his first chapter. We can see draft #1, and even draft #10, with his notes about his thinking, the process, the discoveries, and the decisions made during his revision process. It is pure gold!!!!
What really resonated with me was that he shared how critical feedback was to each of these revisions. We learn who critiqued that draft, what their thoughts and impressions were, and how he used that feedback to fine tune his story and writing.
Sharing snippets of this with my students has been very powerful. They have appreciated the glimpse into the thinking and struggles that go with revision. They have enjoyed seeing how the story grew and changed. They have embraced the idea of seeking feedback from multiple sources for their own revisions.
To Varian Johnson, and all the other writers out there who share insights into their writing process, thank you!
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