Ernest Hemingway declared, “The only kind of writing is rewriting.” In my much shorter experience as a writer, I have found myself agreeing with this. Even if the first draft is good, the second or fourth draft is better. Just imagine what a fourteenth or fifteenth draft could be. Even Pride & Prejudice, in all its wit, is a revision of First Impressions. So, rewriting is beneficial for writing, but how is it done efficiently? I can make no claim to literary greatness, but this is what I have learned.
Tip 1: Face the Terror of the First Draft
Earlier, I considered the possibility that a first draft is good. In my experience, the first draft is never good. The grammar is bad, the characters vague, the themes nonexistent. In my mind I had such an exciting thing to say, but on the page, it becomes a travesty. All my mistakes stare back at me. Judging them, I judge myself.
When I feel like this, I take a moment and consider that a rough draft is not the limits of what I can do as a writer. Instead, my ability to work this first draft into a piece clearly understood by its readers is what I should judge myself by. Goading myself with the fear of having someone else read this mess with my name on it helps too. Either way, I can only do one thing in the end; face my creation and take responsibility for it.
Putting it aside for a while is fine, and often improves your ability to understand the piece. However, do not let fear be the cage on your ability.
Tip 2: Read It Aloud, Multiple Times
You may have heard this somewhere before. Pay attention this time. I read my work aloud for two reasons: it slows me down and gives me a sense of how the prose is structured.
Slowing down is necessary. Slow. Down. Since I am terrified of looking at my first drafts, I have been guilty of rushing through them. Rushing past my mistakes does not make them disappear. Taking the time to read and change those grammar errors does.
Many details begin to pop out when reading aloud. Is this word necessary? Could that sentence fit over there better? I cannot give much advice for specifics here, but if I find it annoying to say, then it is likely annoying to read.
If you are an exemplary writer, you will do it many times. I can’t confess to that, but I will always miss a few mistakes if I only read once. It does not matter how careful I am.
During this exercise I would suggest having a grammar book nearby; The New Well-Tempered Sentence is excellent. I have heard printing the piece helps. I must confess that staring at a screen for hours is uncomfortable.
Tip 3: Get It Critiqued
After I have reworked it to my satisfaction, and I no longer gain a sudden sinking feeling when reading, I give the draft to people I trust. The idea person for me is they will be honest in parts where they are confused and give me reactions. Inevitably, they catch grammar errors I missed in my hurry, and they have alarmingly different opinions on the characters than I do. This is good. The most important thing in critique is to get a different perspective on the piece.
In drawing, sketching, or painting, you can put your piece to a mirror. The reversed image will trick the human brain into looking at it with a fresh set of eyes. With writing, putting it to a mirror only gives you an illegible mess. Art students are still required to go through critic, and for the same reason as writing. Looking at a piece for weeks will make you become normalized to its oddities.
I do not care so much about my readers’ opinions on the piece. If they “like this” or “hate that” is not important. Are they understanding it? What parts confuse them? How can I make that clearer in writing?
After these questions, it is my job to correct the piece in places where my intentions have gone awry. The new sentences must be checked for errors, and the cycle continues.
Writing is difficult. It requires focus and dedication with no quick reward. As a writer, rewriting makes writing easier. I do not have three chances or I’m out. I have as many chances to get the piece right as I have the gumption to try.