Ficlets

Elizabeth Bear, who is one of the hardest working writers in science fiction and fantasy, pens a column about re-writing; that is, taking a book you’ve already finished and then finishing it some more:

And for me, this is the hardest part of the process. It’s not any fun. It’s not revelatory. There’s no rush of creation, no euphoria, no dance of discovery. There is only the exhaustive working over and over of every damned sentence and line and idea, trying to make sure they make sense, trying to make sure they fit.

Most books I write have at least three drafts before an editor ever sees them. This one will have had eight. Maybe nine, because as I am doing such a complete rewrite and so much of it is new, it needs to be gone over with the fine-toothed comb reserved for new prose.

And then, after my editor sees it, I will be revising it again, at length and painstakingly.

Bear hits it on the nose: This is the part of writing that is totally not fun, but also often totally necessary. There’s no joy in looking at a manuscript and saying “No, you’re not supposed to come back. I’m done with you,” and to then have just sit there, denying the comment. You’re not done. Oh, no.