Sea Glass & Revision

I’m entering the last phase of work on this draft and trying hard to be patient with my revision process. 


It can feel a little like hunting for sea glass on a wide beach of stone. The sparkling stuff is there, but hiding. When it reveals itself, there’s a moment of hope and excitement. What else might I find here?

 


Or maybe revision’s more like the making of sea glass itself. A slow sea-tumbling, a grinding and smoothing until there’s something of beauty left behind.



But then, I want my prose to be sharp and clear, so maybe it isn’t like sea glass at all. Maybe revision simply requires something like the frame of mind I’m in when I walk the beach. 


Part looking for something, part exploring what the world offers, part happy just to be where I am.



Trying not to jump ahead to the next phone call or errand or chapter. Trying to be fully inside my own story.



Lucky for me, winter is a good season for sea glass and beach combing. Let's hope my revisions turn out well too!

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