Red Light Writing

I used to have this friend who really had a hang-up about red lights. She'd be sitting at a red light, glaring at it the whole time. "I wonder how much of my life, if you added it all up, I've spent sitting at red lights," she fumed. "It's probably like whole days. Weeks even. I hate them."

I knew better than to point out the obvious: without red lights, we'd all be smudges on the road. Red lights are a tiny pause that brings order to life.

My last two books, I've gone through pretty major revisions with both--AFTER I thought I was done. I'm a speedy little writer, so I like to whip a manuscript out, revise it like mad, get myself worked up, type "THE END" and ship it off. Goodbye! I hate revisiting them afterward, and I hate even reading them again. It's worse than boring. It's agonizing. What if I see something I want to fix?

But both times, after months have passed, I've had to go back into the books with a fresh eye and look for opportunities for revision. And both times, I've been surprised how much better I can make the book with a little distance. So now I'm a believer in the literary red light. Finish your book. Then wait until the initial flush of emotion goes away. Then finish it again.