I love writing, and I’ll admit that I love writing the first draft more than the rest.  For years I flitted from story to story, writing draft after draft, but not really doing much revision.  Writing a story is fun and I love the thrill of watching it unfold and seeing where the characters are going to take you.  It took me awhile to get serious about revision.

If your story is your baby, revision is when it grows up to be a teenager.  Yep, the love is still there, but you start wondering if this kid was such a great idea.  Then you start doubting if you did it right because the kid keeps questioning you and challenging your authority.  The good news is, unlike a child, you can redo the story.  You can cut, paste, or even throw the whole thing out and start over.  Maybe revision done right is like walking your daughter down the aisle and saying to yourself, “Yep, I did it right.” Or maybe seeing your kid graduate from college and get that first job.

So, I’m still revising Stenson Blues.  I’m starting to feel the crunch though, because November is coming up and my original plan was to work on the next novel for NaNoWriMo.  It’s tempting to set this aside for a month and do that, but no, I’m resisting the temptation.  I’m lashing myself to the post so the siren’s call of that new first draft doesn’t suck me in.  Anybody got some ear plugs?