One of the most terrifying things about revision is that you have no guarantee how it will turn out. Usually--and hopefully--the changes that you make are for the better. But I always go through the transformation of drafts with the nagging fear that I'm ruining something. It often goes like this:
*write a scene*
Me: This is genius!!
*read it*
Me: Oh shoot... Maybe not...
*reread it/make some tweaks*
Me: Okay, not so bad. It could even be better than the scene I deleted to replace it.
It all comes down to the realization that nothing (or very little) in your draft is infallible or sacred. You just have to have the courage and trust to listen to other, reputable readers and change it.
Here's hoping it all turns out okay!
*write a scene*
Me: This is genius!!
*read it*
Me: Oh shoot... Maybe not...
*reread it/make some tweaks*
Me: Okay, not so bad. It could even be better than the scene I deleted to replace it.
It all comes down to the realization that nothing (or very little) in your draft is infallible or sacred. You just have to have the courage and trust to listen to other, reputable readers and change it.
Here's hoping it all turns out okay!
'Nothing (or very little) in your draft is infallible or sacred' - so true, but so hard to learn! I think that is the hardest part of the editing process: seeing, and having the courage to remove, those bits that you don't want to get rid of but that no longer belong.
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