It’s November, National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO), when ambitious writers pound out a novel in a notoriously short month – only thirty days, several of which are devoted to the preparation, enjoyment and digestion of Thanksgiving. I’m expecting twenty people for the feast, which is easy: cook a turkey, bake some pies and lay in plenty of wine.It’s feeding the dozen or so who will start arriving on Tuesday and stay until Sunday, and who need breakfast, lunch, dinner and beds, that’s a challenge. Add two birthdays to the mix (and homemade, decorated, cakes), and it becomes clear that there’s no time for drafting anything new. But the chopping, prepping, visiting and general mayhem are quite conducive to the act of rewriting, which is what I’m up to this month.
I’m working on a novel that I researched and drafted between 1995 and 2001. A young and inexperienced agent represented it briefly, but she lost her job before she could sell it. Frankly, I don’t think anyone could have sold it. Back then, it was unwieldy and shapeless, but I was in love with my own effort and thought others would be, too.
In the intervening ten years, I’ve seen the flaws, and I’ve been episodically reworking this novel, whose word-count has dropped from a whopping 140,000 words to under a hundred thousand. I’ve lost count of the revisions – but never the story, which is a dark tragedy set in Vermont in 1958. And 
I’ve never given up on it, although I have put it on the shelf for long, dusty, intervals.
I’m a great believer in those dusty intervals, and I try to allow shelf time for everything I send out; I even try to let a blog post sit overnight before launching it into cyberspace. There’s a similarity here to romance, and how the hunky date might not look so handsome the next morning.
It’s misleading to think that there’s some kind of magical alchemy that occurs while words wait overnight, but I’m 
convinced it’s not the typescript that changes – it’s the writer who returns to a work with a little distance and a different set of eyes. Not only do the grammatical errors and logical lapses glare back in the morning light, but so do the overall structure and the narrative shape – the arc – of the story.
Oh, I know what it’s like to fall in love with your own work, to think that what has flowed onto the page is just perfect – inspired, even. And it may well be. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved. And this is especially true of a large work, one that grows by accretion.
Every time I have revised Elegy for a Girl, it has become a tighter, more gripping story. And now, I’m seeing it again, and adding more torque to the characters, language and plot. Sixteen years into this project, I’ve developed experience and faith in revision – and comfort in knowing I have the current best text to return to, if need be.
This is my second or third revision of this novel this year; I’ve lost count. What’s driving this work is the offer of representation from an agent who has read it as an advocate for the reader. She knows her stuff – and she loves the book.
What I’ve done this time – which maybe will be the last revision – is mapped the book, scene by scene. I’m reintegrating a character who I once edited out, I’m noting the pacing, and fine-tuning the overall rhythm of what happens, when.
Each time I revise this book, I learn something else about craft. In the beginning, I learned about characterization and plot and how to integrate research into a story. Another time, I learned that pruning and cutting improved its development – just as cutting away branches in the orchard promotes better tree growth and more fruit. Now, with an agent waiting for the typescript, I’m learning how to take my writing one step further up the professional ladder.
I’m thankful for learning patience over sixteen years: patience and the value of revision. What about your writing life are you thankful for?
Deborah Lee Luskin is the author of the award-winning novel, Into The Wilderness, “a fiercely intelligent love story” set in Vermont in 1964. She is a regular Commentator on Vermont Public Radio and teaches for the Vermont Humanities Council. Learn more at her website: www.deborahleeluskin.com
Teaching freshman writers the value of revision is one of my bigger challenges in English Comp I. In the hopes that some of them will be inspired to take even a brief second look at their essays before submitting them to me, I am sharing a link to your post. Thank you — and good luck with “Elegy for a Girl.”
Lisa,
Yes, the challenges of English Comp! One of the tricks I used when I taught it was to build revision into the assignment: Have students read each other’s work (in pairs, if the class is large; in workshop, if small), allowing them only to ask questions of the other’s work (What do you mean here? by this word?) or make “I” statements (I lost the thread of your argument here). Since grades motivate students, there could be a grade for each part – first draft, comments, second draft.
If you try this, let me know. Meanwhile, thanks for the link – and the luck.
All best, Deborah.
Love revising. Don’t see how it can work otherwise. I am only on my first and I have edited already my outline several times and it’s not finished yet. I’m wondering if this is an omen of what is to come and what is the end point?
Revisions can go on forever if you let them, I’ve heard other writers say. Some say you know when its at end point.
How will you know when you are at your end point?
Laura,
Every time I revised my first novel, INTO THE WILDERNESS, I thought I was finished. And then I thought publication would be the definitive endpoint. But no: I made ever-so-small corrections to the eBook, and a 150-word fix for a hopeful second edition. With ELEGY FOR A GIRL, I’ll know it’s done when it’s in print. And yes, that’s a fairly arbitrary end-point, but one I hope to earn.
Every one’s process is different (I’ve never used an outline), just as every story and every storyteller is different. Thanks for your comments, and best of luck with your writing, Deborah.
Thanks for sharing your process. I agree, everyone has a different approach to their writing. I am still learning and always love to hear how people go about things! I am not even close to an end point and sometimes ask myself: “How will I know when it’s really DONE?” Always curious to hear from other writers! I hope your book does really well.
In my writing life I am thankful for a voice. We struggle with the art of telling stories & sharing thoughts, often sacrificing sleep for success to get our point across perfectly. It takes time. As do the revisions that can seem to go on forever. Think though, of the foods you didn’t like the first time you tasted them, or a song you later grew to love. Patience is a virtue & fortune sometimes favors the brave. Focus is plant food for fiction. Revise, refine.
Perfection is more than I hope for, but voice – yes! audience – yes! sleep? – when possible.
Thanks for your comment, Deborah.
I really enjoyed this post. I Tweeted about it, too! Hope you are well.
Hi Deb! Nice to meet you here! And thanks for the tweet. Happy Thanksgiving, Deborah.
I’m a would-be writer; I have long procrastinated even getting started because I expected the first write to be closer to the end product. But thanks for posting! It’s encouraging to get a glimpse inside the work of a pro and confirm that it really is more of a process. Getting started is the first step to getting it done. 🙂
Yes, writing’s a process – and procrastination is sometimes a part of that process! I think a lot of “writing” goes on during those hours/days of procrastination. I also find deadlines and timed free-writing good tools to bump me out of the holding pattern, forcing me to put words on the page.
Thanks for writing – and good luck, Deborah.
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