Rewrite!

So as I may have mentioned before I love writing. Love it. The creative process, though at times frustrating, is most often cathartic, therapeutic, and in my case, recreational. Any of you who are writers know that the creative portion of the novel-writing process is the easy part, because after the initial flood of the first draft come the... rewrites. That's right, my pen wielding brothers-and-sisters-in-arms. I heard you all gasp. For those of you who don't know why we would gasp, let me explain.

There is a famous quote about writing that I hate, but is nonetheless true. 90% (and the percentage is debatable as well) of writing is RE-writing. Going in and hacking and slashing that manuscript that you laughed and cried and lavished attention over in the first draft into something lean and mean and tight. Editing is manuscript boot camp, only the manuscript doesn't do any of the work. Not fair. I already worked hard, and now I have to work harder? Not only do you have to work harder, but you have to work longer, because that first polish you rub onto your manuscript is called the second draft, not the final. Oh, no. There is much more to be done. Ask anyone who belongs to a critique group and they will tell you. Fix this and then this isn't quite right. Mend that and then this creaks a little. Oil that and then this seems dull. Polish that and then this is loose. Tighten that... Well, you get the picture. When you are writing a book, you are in for the long haul if you want it to be any good. Anyone who dashes off a first draft and thinks it is ready for print is fooling only themselves. I've known good writers who give up after a fifth draft and say, "If that's not good enough, it never will be."

Which brings me to another writing quote that I wish I could credit, and that is: A writer never finishes a book. He abandons it. That's the truth. There will never be a time when I am completely happy with an entire piece of work. There will always be improvements that could be made, but at some point you just have to let it go. You have to say, "This is good enough," and hope to God that you're right.