Nobody Ever Said Revision Would Be Easy:

32 Steps to Revising Your First Draft

By Terry Pierce

Writing is revising. It’s just that simple. Rarely does a writer create a story and not have to revise. Revisions occur during the writing process, and after we sell our work. We toil over a manuscript for months, even years, and after the elation of selling our work, there always comes the reality of more revision. An editor’s revision requests are usually specific to his/her/their publishing house’s interests, or perhaps his/her/their own ideas for how to strengthen the text. But here, I’ll talk about the revisions you might try while polishing your work to a sparkling gem!

Unlike first draft writing, which can be a purely right-brain creative process, revision is where writers roll up their sleeves, plunge their hands into the wet clay and then squeeze, twist, roll and contort their words…