Friday, June 27, 2008

Revision, revision: Save those drafts

A witty post on RedRoom.com today, by Ashira Goddard mentions something of note: "saving the edits."

I always save drafts and revisions, sometimes labeling them as "Draft3 1876 words," or "Draft4 cut," etc. When you feel you really can't let go of your work, whether good or bad, it makes sense to save your article or manuscript under another name and keep the old drafts until you're really done.

It paid off recently when an editor requested a short article, and I over-wrote, as usual. After lots of good reader feedback, she wanted a longer piece with a broader slant. Right from the start, I was halfway done, because of all the excess material I'd saved.

If you need a bit of inspiration to do the same, read Ashira's June 3rd post on RedRoom.com today.

2 comments:

Susan Bearman said...

Helen, thanks for all the great links on your site. I always learn something new.

Susan

Computer Clarity © 2004 said...

You're welcome, Susan. I don't know what I'd do with all my ideas, if I didn't have the blog. They'd probably be on Post-Its.

Helen