Rewritting the perfect lines. Augh, the horror! Wait, something seems wrong with that bit ... where's the editor?

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Part of a writer's life is going back and ripping apart their own work. It's a necessary part of editing. Personally, I love tearing apart my own work--because it makes things better! Sure, it's easy to believe what you've slaved over to create is perfect at inception, but that usually isn't the case. It does take a lot of grit to delete whole lines, paragraphs, pages, or chapters, because it's no good and can be made better. Still, this process is essential if you want anything beyond a first draft. There are legends about many classic authors, where the writers spent countless days perfecting their work (often starting over entirely).

One thing authors must decide on is when to stop and call it done. I'm not sure anything is really finished, but you have to end at some point. George Lucas has become a popular whipping post for doing this wrong (as the Special Editions of Star Wars--any of them--are being constantly fiddled with), yet I think every author is never fully satisfied with their own art. I look back at things I wrote many years ago and cringe. Oh well, I was happy with it then so I suppose I've just gotten better.

 

Maybe it's more impressive that artists allow any of their work to be seen at all. To them, their work is like family, or specifically like children. That's why so many are unable to bear criticism, or even healthy critiques. Well, the world is a cruel place, but there's nothing wrong with feedback--even unkind ones. Accept the good and discard the rest. Cheer up. Great art comes from adversity, as they say.

 

- M

 

ps. Yes, I know I misspelled the title, but that was the point wasn't it?