Lecture 22: Revision without Tears
Lessons Learned
z As these revisions show, some writers work from the general to the
VSHFL¿F(DUO\GUDIWVPD\EHDNLQGRIVXPPDU\ZLWKRXWPXFKGHWDLO
DQGZLWKPRUHH[SRVLWLRQWKDQGUDPD,I\RX¿QGWKDW¶VWKHFDVHZLWK
your work, when you’re revising, ask yourself: What would readers
want from this passage that I’m not giving them? What does the
character look like or sound like? Where does the scene take place, and
what exactly happens in it?z The key here is to be your own toughest critic. Consider all the techniques
we’ve looked at in this course—evoking rather than describing, using
setting to create mood, creating character through detail, advancing the
plot through dialogue, and so on—and apply them to your draft.z If you’re interested in lean prose, another technique you might try is
to see how much you can cut out of a paragraph or a sentence without
altering its meaning or intent. For example, see if you can get an eight-
line paragraph down to two lines. This “Twitter technique” of revision is
a useful exercise to prevent passages from inducing boredom.z Other methods you can try include printing the previous day’s work and
editing it by hand or reading sections or chapters out loud. Reading your
work aloud slows you down, so you’re more likely to catch grammatical
errors and repeated words. It’s also a great way to gauge the rhythm
DQGÀRZRI\RXUVHQWHQFHVDQGGHFLGHZKHUHSDUDJUDSKEUHDNVVKRXOG
be. By hearing the words spoken, you catch many missteps that might
otherwise slip by you.Ellroy, /$&RQ¿GHQWLDO.
Gardner, 7KH$UWRI)LFWLRQ.
Hynes, 7KH/HFWXUHU¶V7DOH.
———, 3XEOLVKDQG3HULVK.Suggested Reading