Rewrites Often Make Your Writing Better
Sometimes I procrastinate in writing something and get super frustrated. However, sometimes it’s the best thing I could have ever done. Why? By stepping away a looking at what I’ve written with fresh eyes I get to realize how to fix, clean up, or sometimes even go into a rewrite to make it better.
I don’t know about you, I know for me there are times of day it’s just best I do not write. The result of me writing late in the evening is that I will have a major edit, significant deletions, or a rewrite for sure. Sometimes I have no idea how I could have even written such rubbish. Other times I have no idea what point I was even trying to make.
Other times whether it’s writer's block or procrastination, when I read what I have written I realize the structure is off, the flow is wonky, the ideas aren’t flushed out or the thought is not fully formed. These fresh eyes due to time and space become a valuable tool in developing a superior product.
In the writing of my stress workbook what I have been doing between each writing session is taking people through the process I am explaining in the book. What has happened in this last session is that I completely refined the process so actually doing the work itself is much less stressful. Adding stress to someone who is experiencing high stress is not good.
Therefore, working through the process while I’m writing and forming my ideas is becoming invaluable to developing a superior writing product. First, I am now able to cut out a lot more of the scientific speak which I assume will be over-complicated for a general public product on stress. Second, I was able to develop tools with simple scales for going through the process which takes little explanation.
In summary, my lessons for the day are first, that all procrastination is not bad if it gives you time and space away from what you are writing to see it with fresh eyes. Second, reworking your product, even if it takes a full rewrite, is worth it if the finished product will be better for the consumer.
I’d love to know your thoughts.
