Are You Revising the Right Way?

A few weeks back, I read a guest post on the Terrible Minds blog by Delilah S. Dawson that rocked my world. (I’ll link the post later on. Trust me, if you write, you NEED to read this!) It was long, hilarious, enlightening, terrifying, beautiful and mind-numbing all in one. But it was so good, I printed it off and carried it around with me for about a week. Now, I keep it by my computer as a reminder/life-coach/coaster. Honestly, if you only have a few minutes, don’t read it now. Take your time. There are so many gems in it, you’ll need time to absorb them.

But the single most mind-blowing idea was this, regarding revision:

Isn’t that brilliant??????  (Okay, honestly, I wondered if it should be “magnus opus”, but you get the point.)* I want to have that tattooed across my hands, just to remind me.  I can be tough on my critique partners, but am I that tough on myself? Are you?

Think about it. And then start your revisions, pretending you’re looking at someone else’s work. This is going to change everything.  Everything.

P.S……Here’s the link to Delilah’s guest post.

* Apparently, this “magnum opus” is correct. Good thing I don’t write in Latin, huh?