Word After Word

It’s time to revise my manuscript and I’m thinking about the approach. And how it’s exactly like dating. I think. I want to approach the revision in a friendly, upbeat, casual way, with great depth of purpose, but no expectations (limits, pressure, ultimatums). I can’t scare the book away. I can’t be unreliable for it. I am choosing to be affectionate and delicious. A partner for my book. A good partner. The kind I would want for myself.

In the past, I have approached Revising A Book with a very different attitude, one I would describe as terror-driven. I have revised by:

muscling the book to the floor

telling the book everything that is wrong with it and harping on these flaws

failing on a daily basis to see anything decent or funny or good or wise in the book

starting completely over, not even rereading the previous draft (a form of serial monogamy?) because i’m so terrified of its flaws and my ability to fix them

Now, I’m trying not to see the book as flawed, and in need of fixing. I’m trying to what I urge my students to do. Playful redreaming. Recreational loose reviewing. Experimenting. Trying little different things. Gentle moves.

I’m going on a love vacation with my book over Spring Break. We are recommitting to each other. There’s a ceremony and everything.