🚀 go-pugleaf

>> Robert Heinlein wrote an editorial listing the steps necessary to 
>> succeed as a writer.
>> 
>>   1) Write.
>>   2) Finish what you start.
>>   3) Put it in the mail to somebody likely to buy it.
>>   4) Never rewrite except to editorial request. NEVER.
>>   5) Keep sending the story out until you've run out of markets.
>>   6) Write something else.
>> 
>> They all make pretty good sense to me, except number four.  
>> I don't believe he's saying that one should always be satisfied
>> with one's first draft.  What is it exactly that he advises against ? 
>
>I don't think that Heinlien was advising to only write one adraft;
>what I think he means in that once you have finished the piece
>of writing and YOU are happy with it (and let's face some writers
>need more rewrites than other :), then you shouldn't rewrite it
>unless it has been accepted, and the editor wants a few minor
>changes.
>

Agreed. :)

My girlfriend thinks that I rewrite too much...kill the story...but she
always admits (eventually) that the story comes out better after a few touches.
I can't obviously speak for Heinlien, but as for myself, when I am happy
with a story...it is finished. A few years later I may look back and say
"hey, I should have changed that part" or "I could have said that better"...and
I may go back and change it, but not likely after too long. When it's 
finished, it's finished. Move on.

I have a problem with the entire "Rules for Writers" concept.
As I see it everyone writes differently, everyone comes from different
backgrounds with different experiences. There is no set Bible of "This is how
you write." Find what works for you. Granted, tips from writers, particularly
in the publication aspect, may proved beneficial, but the actual creative
process is yours. Find what works for you. If you don't feel the need to 
rewrite (before editorial request) then by all means don't rewrite. I, on the
other hand, must labor over a text.

Yea, I ramble. Sorry.

Michael