This is the final section in Harvesting Words before we get to the workshop where you can share your writing! If you’re a free subscriber and want to join us, upgrade for $7/month.
You’ll be able to access all of the Harvesting Words lessons right away. Harvesting Words closes next week, and then we’ll be back to regular posts on farming, creativity, and all that sprouts up from the soil.
We’re almost there! The harvest: a final draft.
In the garden, there’s always some post-harvest handling—sorting, curing, and washing. There are seconds that are saved for farm use, and thirds that are composted.
The post-harvest handling of writing is called revision.
And I love it. Oh, how I love it. You’ve already written, and now you get to play, to cut, to tweak, to really make a piece shine. This is where you get to take—as Anne Lamott says—the shitty first draft and transform it into a beautiful work you’re proud to share.
As a side note, it’s rare that you’ll go from draft one to final draft. Often, there are a few in between.
If something doesn’t come out strong or effective the first time around, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. It means you’re a writer who’s constantly growing, accepting the practice, and willing to do the dirty work to get from seed to bloom.
In HARVEST, we’re going to focus on three aspects of revision: Curing, Pruning, and Composting.
Let’s dive in.
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