Virginia teacher and playwright Sheri Bailey has some writing advice as smart as it is succinct: “There are no writers — only re-writers.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Rewriters”
Here’s some writing advice from Sherry Bailey. She’s a teacher and playwright in Virginia.
And she says that at the beginning of a new class of writing students, she tells them, there are no writers, only rewriters. And I thought that was such a wonderfully succinct way of talking about our process, Grant. Absolutely. Because so many beginning writers think that once it’s down on the page, that first draft is golden and that they better not touch it, that somehow this is the perfect thing and this is the ultimate state of their work.
And that anything further that would be done to it would destroy it or ruin it. They don’t understand the perfection that comes from rewriting and editing and collaboration with others.
Yes, yes. Well said, Grant. I really prefer the rewriting process to the writing process, to the getting it all down on paper. That part is usually painful for me, the first part.
Yeah, me too. I like arguing with myself, basically. That’s what a rewrite is, where I’m like, wow, what were you thinking there? Oh, that’s pretty good, but that can be better. Or, this isn’t for this project. You need to cut that out and save that for something else.
It’s just you’re really talking to yourself and presenting arguments to yourself that you can either win or lose, but you’re still talking to yourself.
Yeah, you’re pushing yourself to be better.
Anyway, I love that. There are no writers. There are only rewriters. Thank you, Sherry.
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