Unit 6

Revision

Writing means rewriting and rewriting and rewriting. Revision does not involve polishing a few sentences or removing a few ineffective passages. Revision means re-envisioning, seeing again. It means exploring the implications of the narrative you are telling.

Amateur writers underestimate how often professional writers rewrite. Maurice Sendak, the children’s writer, has said that he rewrote Where the Wild Things Are three hundred and forty-five times. Other writers say that they work on a different problem with each draft. Genni Gunn, author of Tracing Iris, says that with each draft she puts in another layer; with each draft she finds and makes clear new connections.