If a first draft is a private romp in the woods, consequent drafts teach us about the flora and fauna, the geology, the contours of the landscape. Our intimacy with the subject deepens. Our respect grows. We find that the best route through the woods is likely not our first path. Only toward the end of a lengthy revision process, once we thoroughly know our material, ought we turn our attention to the needs of our readers. Revision transforms the writer from explorer to guide.
from “Living Revision: A Writer’s Craft as Spiritual Practice” by @Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew @Skinner House
