‘I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.’
~ James Michener
REWRITING makes the difference between good writing and poor writing. James Michener and other literary greats have left us with invaluable reminders about the vital importance of this process. Whenever I feel dissatisfied with my writing style, or find myself unable to finish a story or an article, their wisdom reaches me like a breath of fresh air in a humid room.
Now, every time I open a document, I edit a little here and there, making mental notes of the elements I want to change. If I find that progress has stalled entirely, I rewrite—and, when necessary, overhaul almost everything in the draft. As one author beautifully put it: it is perfectly okay to write garbage, as long as you edit brilliantly.
Living in an era of accessible computers and word processing software is a massive advantage; these tools have immensely simplified my rewriting tasks. I can hardly imagine how painstakingly Michener must have labored at his typewriter, writing and rewriting long notes to complete his manuscripts before finally submitting them to his publisher. Michener admitted that he worked very slowly, requiring constant revision to craft his best-selling historical fiction novel, Hawaii. He had to type roughly three million words, only to trim the final version down to about half a million before embarking on yet another round of drafting.
