Alas Quote by T. E. Lawrence

Revision is not going back and fussing around, but going forward into the process of creation

— May Sarton

“First drafts are for learning what your novel or story is about. Revision is working with that knowledge to enlarge & enhance an idea,…

— Bernard Malamud

But revision is a creative act, not merely an analytical imposition of rules of style on a more creative first draft. That's a myth…

— K. M. Soehnlein

“A really well-done first draft of a book bares your soul. The purpose of revision is so that everyone who reads the published version…

— James A. Owen

Somewhere I put it this way: first drafts are for learning what one’s fiction wants him to say. Revision works with that knowledge to…

— Bernard Malamud

Revision is not the end of the creative process, but a new beginning. It's a chance not just to clean up and edit, but…

— John Dufresne

First drafts are for learning what your novel or story is about. Revision is working with that knowledge to enlarge and enhance an idea,…

— Bernard Malamud

Revision has its own peculiar pleasures and its own peculiar frustrations. The ground rules are already established; the characters already exist. You don't have…

— Vikram Seth

My first drafts are always terrible, and I hate them, but the process for me is all about writing the bad version until it…

— Jesse Andrews

The novel is never really in the first draft. The novel really happens in the revisions.

— Tama Janowitz

I'm a passionate believer in revision, and a lot of my writing gets done during revision process. It isn't just tweaking: I tend to…

— John Jeremiah Sullivan

Revision means throwing out the boring crap and making what’s left sound natural.

— Laurie Halse Anderson