March 20, 2010

revision, revision, revision

i'll be taking a break from blogging this week so i can concentrate on getting over my wall, but i thought i'd leave you few quotes on my favorite subject - revisions (that's a joke btw).

Good rewriting demands easy, unhurried tinkering with words. Each unsuccessful try eliminates another wrong solution and leads you to the right one. I can’t emphasize too strongly how important this is, the fact that writing leads to writing, that failed attempts lead to eventual success, that the solution to a rewriting problem is made up of all the attempts that led nowhere..." ~Dorothy Bryant

(i really need to remember this one. i hate unsuccessful tries and failed attempts. they feel like a waste of time.)

Convince yourself that you are working in clay, not marble, on paper, not eternal bronze: let that first sentence be as stupid as it wishes. No one will rush out and print it as it stands. ~ Jacques Barzun

I can't write five words but that I can change seven. ~ Dorothy Parker

(i finally know what this means now.)

so, no matter which draft you're on, here's to figuring out which words to keep and which words to cut.

8 comments:

Jackee said...

I have never seen the first quote before. I love it, thank you so much! Now I have a new one to add to my list.

Nighfala said...

"good writing demands easy, unhurried thinking with words"

What does that mean, exactly? To me, the easy words seem to be the bad ones. i.e. the first draft.

The unhurried, thinking words are the ones that I end up keeping. But they are anything but easy to write.

Perhaps it means "easy to read?"

Nighfala said...

Oops, I just realized it said "tinkering" not "thinking." But I still don't think the tinkering is easy at all. In fact, the more tinkering I do, the harder it gets.

Unknown said...

Love the quotes!!! Good Luck revising!!

Sara Harricharan said...

Ahh, great quotes. Especially for National Novel Editing Month. Best of luck and sending "positive energy" your way! ^_^

Susan R. Mills said...

I've taken a lot of breaks from blogging to get my revisions done. I love these quotes. I needed to hear them. Have a nice break and I hope you get a lot done.

Unknown said...

These are great! I'm up to my elbows in rewrites myself these days, so I appreciate all these quotes. Dorothy Bryant's, especially, rings home.

Mary E Campbell said...

Hi Michelle - wonderful quotes. I have an award for you at my blog.