There’s a book I can’t wait to read. I guess it will have to wait until after NaNoWriMo – it’s Francine Prose’s Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife which, among other things, reveals the full extent of serious revision Anne Frank undertook to make her diary read like a good novel.
That’s right, up in that infamous attic, Anne did what any pro writer knows must be done. She revised. She wanted to make a fascinating story even more fascinating. She wanted to be a real writer.
Years ago, I hated revision. I made every conceivable excuse not to revise, including everything from “it betrays spontaneity” to “it gives me a nervous breakdown.”
Then I encountered a situation where I had no choice. An agent threw down the gauntlet: revise one more time…or else, forget it.
That lesson stayed with me: real writers know that the quality of revision they can muster will always make the difference between a forgettable story and a page turner.
Anne Frank knew this. That’s one reason why, even in death, she survived that attic room–and why we still read her today.
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