--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I edit as I write. I revise endlessly. I…" description: "\"I edit as I write. I revise endlessly. I don't go forward until I know that what I've written is as good as I can make it.\" — Anita Shreve" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/anita-shreve-6955_edit_i-edit-as-i-write-i-revise-endlessly-i-d_837422.jpg" --- # I edit as I write. I revise endlessly. I don't go forward… ![“I edit as I write. I revise endlessly. I don't go forward until I know that what I've written is as good as I can make it.” quote by Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/anita-shreve-6955_edit_i-edit-as-i-write-i-revise-endlessly-i-d_837422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/anita-shreve-6955_edit_i-edit-as-i-write-i-revise-endlessly-i-d_837422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/anita-shreve-6955_edit_i-edit-as-i-write-i-revise-endlessly-i-d_837422.jpg) > “I edit as I write. I revise endlessly. I don't go forward until I know that what I've written is as good as I can make it.” [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing should be refined through continuous revision until the author feels the work cannot be improved further. **In simple terms:** Revise until the piece feels complete. Key Takeaway Commit to meticulous editing to achieve the best possible result. Themes writing revision perfectionism craftsmanship Mood thoughtful focused Type advisory inspirational When to use this quote - author workshops - self‑editing routines - peer review sessions Key Concepts editing self‑critique quality control Questions to Reflect On - When is a piece “good enough”? - How do you balance perfection with productivity? A Different Perspective Over‑editing may stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Trust your imagination. Don't be afraid to fail. Write. Revise. Revise. Revise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/trust-your-imagination-don-t-be-afraid-to-fail-write-revise-revise/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Revision plays a very large role in writing. Sometimes it seems to be all revision. And the longer I write, the more I revise-until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hunnicutt/revision-plays-a-very-large-role-in-writing-sometimes-it-seems-to-be/) Ellen Hunnicutt > [I edit as I write and shoot. Any extra line, any pause that I know will get chopped on the editing table is done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajkumar-hirani/i-edit-as-i-write-and-shoot-any-extra-line-any-pause-that-i-know-will/) [Rajkumar Hirani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajkumar-hirani/) > [“You can edit what you write. Why not edit what you say? If it hurts somebody, you can still offer an apology or withdraw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/you-can-edit-what-you-write-why-not-edit-what-you-say-if-it-hurts/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Your job as an executive is to edit, not write. It's OK to write once in a while but if you do it often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dorsey/your-job-as-an-executive-is-to-edit-not-write-it-s-ok-to-write-once/) [Jack Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dorsey/) > [The way I write is this: I write about a thousand words a day, a little bit more. The next morning, I read those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/the-way-i-write-is-this-i-write-about-a-thousand-words-a-day-a-little/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [With a pencil and paper, I could revise the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/with-a-pencil-and-paper-i-could-revise-the-world/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [SARS was a very important event... And many countries have learned from SARS... The SARS event sort of gave them additional impetus and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chan/sars-was-a-very-important-event-and-many-countries-have-learned-from/) [Margaret Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chan/) > [I started on computers with 'Billy Bathgate,' a little orange screen with black letters. I thought it was really cool, but it actually slowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-started-on-computers-with-billy-bathgate-a-little-orange-screen/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [As we begin to become aware of the narrative patterns around which we structure our lives, we learn how to take charge, revise, refine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-aftel/as-we-begin-to-become-aware-of-the-narrative-patterns-around-which-we/) Mandy Aftel > [I've found that in business opportunities will constantly emerge or situations develop that make you revise your plans along the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cohen/i-ve-found-that-in-business-opportunities-will-constantly-emerge-or/) [Benjamin Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cohen/) > [The economists will have to revise their theories of value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-economists-will-have-to-revise-their-theories-of-value/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'd drown in a sea of tears if I lived my life ruminating on the past. I would undoubtedly revise memories to be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximillian-degenerez/i-d-drown-in-a-sea-of-tears-if-i-lived-my-life-ruminating-on-the-past/) [Maximillian Degenerez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximillian-degenerez/) > [The advice I would offer to any writer is that even when you think you have revised your book to the point where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/the-advice-i-would-offer-to-any-writer-is-that-even-when-you-think/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## More by Anita Shreve > [The things that don't happen to us that we'll never know didn't happen to us. The nonstories. The extra minute to find the briefcase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/the-things-that-don-t-happen-to-us-that-we-ll-never-know-didn-t/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [I guess that's the point of drinking, to take all the feelings and thoughts and morals away until you are just a body doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/i-guess-that-s-the-point-of-drinking-to-take-all-the-feelings-and/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“Webster, as if he's done it every day of his life, as if he did it just the day before, trails his fingers from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/webster-as-if-he-s-done-it-every-day-of-his-life-as-if-he-did-it-just/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“It was probably not so unusual to be a different person with a different man, for all parts were authentically within, waiting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/it-was-probably-not-so-unusual-to-be-a-different-person-with-a/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [Children don't heal as well.. they change.. they mutate with disaster and make accomodations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/children-don-t-heal-as-well-they-change-they-mutate-with-disaster-and/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [And then she moved from shock to grief the way she might enter another room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/and-then-she-moved-from-shock-to-grief-the-way-she-might-enter/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“It's a wonder any of us make it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/it-s-a-wonder-any-of-us-make-it/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [If you're skating on thin ice, you might as well dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/if-you-re-skating-on-thin-ice-you-might-as-well-dance/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [I have always been faithful to you if faithful means the experience against which everything else has been measured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/i-have-always-been-faithful-to-you-if-faithful-means-the-experience/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“If one has a good reputation and trusted, the rules can be bent to accommodate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/if-one-has-a-good-reputation-and-trusted-the-rules-can-be-bent-to/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“She felt with the shiver the rare sensation that she was exactly where she should be. She was an idea, a memory, one perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/she-felt-with-the-shiver-the-rare-sensation-that-she-was-exactly/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“She thinks of all that will have to be done to dismantle a life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/she-thinks-of-all-that-will-have-to-be-done-to-dismantle-a-life/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [Reunions are always fraught with awkward tensions - the necessity to account for oneself; the attempt to find, through memories, an ember of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/reunions-are-always-fraught-with-awkward-tensions-the-necessity-to/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [Like many readers, I am continually in search of books that allow me to lose myself in an entirely unique universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/like-many-readers-i-am-continually-in-search-of-books-that-allow-me/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“kind of necessary acceptance will form around her, like a lobster making its new shell, one that will be soft and easily breakable in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/kind-of-necessary-acceptance-will-form-around-her-like-a-lobster/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) [Explore all 95 Anita Shreve quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) ## More Edit quotes > [To design is much more than simply to assemble, to order, or even to edit: it is to add value and meaning, to illuminate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rand/to-design-is-much-more-than-simply-to-assemble-to-order-or-even-to/) [Paul Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rand/) > [You can't edit a blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I think I'm able to do so much because writing is what I love to do. So, often when I have free time, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-think-i-m-able-to-do-so-much-because-writing-is-what-i-love-to-do/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“I love Edit. He gives me tons of second chances to make things just right between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-andrews/i-love-edit-he-gives-me-tons-of-second-chances-to-make-things-just/) [Buffy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-andrews/) > [I can't sit on my bum very long in a movie theater seat, and when I'm directing, I always want to move the camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/i-can-t-sit-on-my-bum-very-long-in-a-movie-theater-seat-and-when-i-m/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Even though I studied in New York and I know the American system, I come from France where I learned that with movies in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leterrier/even-though-i-studied-in-new-york-and-i-know-the-american-system-i/) [Louis Leterrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leterrier/) > [I don't have to edit myself. I get to be me, warts and all, and that's ultimately what people want, and to trust each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-behrendt/i-don-t-have-to-edit-myself-i-get-to-be-me-warts-and-all-and-that-s/) [Greg Behrendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-behrendt/) > [In TV, you have no time and sort of just carpet bomb the scene with as many angles as possible as quickly as possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/in-tv-you-have-no-time-and-sort-of-just-carpet-bomb-the-scene-with-as/) [Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/) > [Yes, in my books I do edit myself to keep from becoming the Village Explainer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/yes-in-my-books-i-do-edit-myself-to-keep-from-becoming-the-village/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [I'm not sure when exactly I knew I was funny, but I always knew I was different. I never had an 'edit' button and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-gold/i-m-not-sure-when-exactly-i-knew-i-was-funny-but-i-always-knew-i-was/) [Judy Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-gold/) > [“Edit more, my mantra.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-honenberger/edit-more-my-mantra/) Sarah Honenberger > [The thing with TV and filming is the timing is all faked anyway. You do it so many times, from so many different angles.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-bird/the-thing-with-tv-and-filming-is-the-timing-is-all-faked-anyway-you/) [Simon Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-bird/) > [I realize that I am typically vulnerable only when and where and how much it suits me. I can choose my writer words and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-armstrong/i-realize-that-i-am-typically-vulnerable-only-when-and-where-and-how/) [Kristin Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-armstrong/) > [To write is human, to edit is divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/to-write-is-human-to-edit-is-divine/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I really like the idea of being utilitarian. My dream is to edit down my wardrobe and be very Japanese, where you have one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-wasson/i-really-like-the-idea-of-being-utilitarian-my-dream-is-to-edit-down/) [Erin Wasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-wasson/) Browse all 137 Edit quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I edit as I write. I revise endlessly. 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