Revisions

I'm doing revisions on a manuscript, which given the fabulous spring weather we're having (finally!!) should be getting me down. Nope. Many writers hate doing revisions (and term the experience Revision Hell), but I enjoy them.

I like honing my word choices. Polishing the rough edges of my prose. I like seeing things I couldn't see the first time around and getting the opportunity to stretch the plot tension just a little further, or heighten the emotional impact. This is the part of writing that feels very craftsman-like to me. I picture an old-world carpenter taking the fine grit sandpaper to the intricate curls of the bedpost he's carved. Smoothing the wood until he can't sense a single snag with the palm of his hand. That's what revisions feel like to me.

In a perfect world, you wouldn't have to do them under deadline pressure either, but hey. Life is what it is. LOL.