Tuesday's Inspiration - Writer, Editor and Revisions #MFRWauthor

The writer receives the response from the editor. The manuscript has been returned with the suggested dreaded revisions. Perhaps the suggestions are minor or they can be major. A little bit of resentment enters the writer's thoughts. How could he or she think that? Is the manuscript really that bad? Probably not. But every writer feels the same way when someone else looks at their story and sees flaws.

Part of the problem lies in the writer. They have been over the story so many times they may see things that aren't there. The editor has found them. Sometimes the problem lies in the editor's view of the story. But the story isn't theirs.

Revisions aren't a lot of fun and yet they can be. The revisions must be made to fit flawlessly into the entire story. It's not just a matter of changing a few words. If the scene needs to be re-written, the writer needs to look at what the editor has said and make changes but the changes must be theirs.

I've read many stories. Sometimes a scene leaps out and doesn't seem to fit the voice, the tone or just something seems wrong. The writer has made the changes following the editor's suggestion and they don't fit something in the writer's style. So when the manuscript comes back from the editor and a part needs to be extensively revised consider what the editor has suggested and then the writer needs to decide how the changes can be made to maintain the story. The story and the vision belong to the writer and the changes must be those he or she find work for them and for the story they have written.