Monday, May 21, 2007

re-re-revision


My metaphorical pencils are sharpened. The toast is crisp, the novel slightly underdone. Time for the 3rd revision, which I hope will be the last, but then maybe you always hope a revision will be the last.

The vision I had of the novel, years ago now, has come down to this piece of worked stone, this crisped and nibbled pile of pages. The question is always--does it come close? how close can it come?

You get tired of it, you feel fond of it, you hate it, you fall in love with it again: blah blah blah.

5 Comments:

Blogger Nova Ren Suma said...

Oh, this sounds so familiar! I'm about to do the very same thing.

I hope your revision is fun...

5/21/2007 7:11 PM  
Blogger susan grimm said...

Actually, I'm about to do the same thing but with a book of poems. It strikes me that with this book I had no beginning expectations of arc or whatever, and I'm about to reshape it violently. But in a good way. Have you decided what my timetable for your novel will be?

5/22/2007 10:08 AM  
Blogger Sean Santa said...

blah blah blah is my favourite part of the explanation

L,

Sean

5/23/2007 3:49 AM  
Blogger Gina Ventre said...

I like the pic of the sharpened pencils! I like the smell of sharpened pencils. Remember the pencil sharpeners that would mount on the wall? One could adjust the plate on one side of the pencil sharpener to accommodate various sizes of pencil? The shavings would collect in the small space below the plate. Sometimes the plate part was gone entirely and one had to sharpen over a trash can.

5/23/2007 8:46 AM  
Blogger mary grimm said...

nova--I'm hoping for fun, although I am an inveterate lover of the 1st draft.
erie--let's get together and schedule!
SS--me, too (although I am fond of my toast metaphor).
Gina--we have one of those! D attached it to our giant bookcase so we can sharpen at will.

5/23/2007 10:32 AM  

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