Writers are all different. What I do is absolutely no model for how to do it. And what I do differs greatly from story to story. I’ve rewritten a novel entirely five times, taking over 20 years to do so. I’ve written a novel in six weeks and changed nothing substantial in revision, only made minor adjustments of wording –- a process I enjoy so much I have to make myself stop it.
The book is done when you say it’s done. It’s entirely up to you. It’s your responsibility.
–Ursula K. Le Guin
What if you’re having trouble deciding this draft is The One? It could start by knowing when a draft definitely isn’t your final product. Giles Turnbull suggests letting yourself feel free to get cliché with your first draft. A cliché may be overused, but it’s familiar and clear enough to act as a placeholder for the better revision. Sherryl Clark also offers some pointers on revising, such as trusting feedback instead of discrediting your readers and the difference between sanding off the rough edges and building a new revision.
Elizabeth Moon shares some thoughts on the challenge of looking at your previously written work with fresh eyes:
The hardest revisions are those which you have to do immediately after writing the piece, by yourself, in a hurry. It's hard to see the piece clearly if you've just written it, hard to be that stranger coming to the work you know so well, hard to see the gap between what is on the page (or screen) and what you hoped to convey.
Nancy Sommers investigates how college students understand revision and compares it with professional, experienced writers and how they approach a rewrite:
In general, students will subordinate the demands of the specific problems of their text to the demands of the rules. Changes are made in compliance with abstract rules about the product, rules that quite often do not apply to the specific problems in the text.
Alexander Chee explains his writing process, including how different passes at a revision have different functions, including the “set-decorating revision” that makes sure objects are where they need to be in a story. Mike Caulfield documents his experience building a personal wiki, and how this is a good mental model for revision since it’s focused on recognizing and strengthening the connections between separate elements.
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💪 Stronger together
The WGA has an agreement, but the fight for fair contracts continues! If you’re looking to keep up your Arm Day routine on the picket lines, you can still help SAG-AFTRA!
For ways you can support the SAG-AFTRA effort to negotiate a fair contract with the AMPTP, check their strike hub for more information.
⏱️ You know for sure when your write sprint is done
Each week we post a comment thread for writers to meet up, cheer each other on, and put some words on the page with a Write Sprint.
What’s a Write Sprint?
John wrote up an explanation, but here’s the short version: Set a timer for 60 minutes, close down all distractions, and do nothing but write until that timer goes off.
Sometimes that’s all it takes to get some momentum going with your writing: You set aside this time for writing and nothing else, so you’d better use it!
Shout out to Barthos, Elyse Moretti Forbes, Brian Matusz, Aimee Link, and Mark Leiren-Young for sprinting with us last week!
📖 You know. For kids!
This week’s Featured Friday in Weekend Read and more in the Discover tab.
Still haven’t tried Weekend Read 2? Download the free trial from the App Store to check out our app for reading, listening to, and taking notes on scripts while on the go.
Previously on Inneresting…
In case you missed it, in last issue’s most clicked link J.J. Murphy looks at the making of Take Out, and how Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou made a feature for $3,000 and found a powerful, insightful story because of the ways they planned around their limited budget.
What else is inneresting?
The Mushroom Kingdom Dream of 1UPward Mobility is a lie: Retro Game Mechanics Explained digs into the code to show how Super Mario Bros. 3 rigs the roulette bonus game.
Leaving Twitter Didn’t Hurt NPR: Gabe Bullard explains the metrics that show Twitter didn’t provide much of any traffic to NPR, and how the network found better ways to make direct contact with their audience.
Off-the-Grid Amphibians: Cyrena Touros on Frog and Toad as queer anti-capitalist cottagecore icons.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from readers like you and the entire Quote-Unquote team.
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🗣 Have ideas for future topics (or just want to say hello)? Reach out to Chris via email at inneresting@johnaugust.com, Mastodon @ccsont@mastodon.art, or Bluesky @ccsont.bsky.social