--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great thing about revision is that…" description: "\"The great thing about revision is that it's your opportunity to fake being brilliant.\" — Will Shetterly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/will-shetterly-35215_brilliant_the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-i_1324614.jpg" --- # The great thing about revision is that it's your… ![“The great thing about revision is that it's your opportunity to fake being brilliant.” quote by Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/will-shetterly-35215_brilliant_the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-i_1324614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/will-shetterly-35215_brilliant_the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-i_1324614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/will-shetterly-35215_brilliant_the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-i_1324614.jpg) > “The great thing about revision is that it's your opportunity to fake being brilliant.” [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Revision lets you experiment, polish, and present ideas as if you already mastered them. **In simple terms:** Revision is a chance to appear brilliant through editing. Key Takeaway Use revision to refine and showcase your best work. Themes creativity self-improvement learning Mood reflective motivational Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - academic writing - software development - creative writing - public speaking Key Concepts iteration self-presentation confidence Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure revisions improve substance, not just style? - What habits help you turn drafts into genuine mastery? A Different Perspective Polished work may mask underlying gaps needing deeper understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Great things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-things/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“That's religion in America, under constant revision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sharlet/that-s-religion-in-america-under-constant-revision/) [Jeff Sharlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sharlet/) > [The rise of capitalist practice and morality brought with it a radical revision of how the commons are treated, and also of how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rise-of-capitalist-practice-and-morality-brought-with-it-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Revision, once well done, becomes a sort of automatic itch which you scratch in the next work without thinking about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romulus-linney/revision-once-well-done-becomes-a-sort-of-automatic-itch-which-you/) [Romulus Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romulus-linney/) > [In the wake of her indispensable textbook, Janet Burroway now offers a splendid and concise guide to the thorny task of revision. Writers, young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-livesey/in-the-wake-of-her-indispensable-textbook-janet-burroway-now-offers-a/) [Margot Livesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-livesey/) > [Occasionally, I like to select a mentor, a master, and let him guide me through a revision of one of my paintings... I try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-lebrun/occasionally-i-like-to-select-a-mentor-a-master-and-let-him-guide-me/) [Rico Lebrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-lebrun/) > [“The process of revision should be constant and endless”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-process-of-revision-should-be-constant-and-endless/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Why aren’t the thinks I’m thinking getting thunk on the page any faster?!? (from Stop Lying: Writing Is Hard on ChristopherLehman.com)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lehman/why-aren-t-the-thinks-i-m-thinking-getting-thunk-on-the-page-any/) Christopher Lehman > [“Hey Revision. You can be a pain but you do make Book better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-andrews/hey-revision-you-can-be-a-pain-but-you-do-make-book-better/) [Buffy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-andrews/) > [I love revisions...We can't go back and revise our lives, but being allowed to go back and revise what we have written comes closest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/i-love-revisions-we-can-t-go-back-and-revise-our-lives-but-being/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. But they have not accepted - they have scarcely even heard -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/modern-societies-accepted-the-treasures-and-the-power-offered-them-by/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-lord-of-the-rings-is-of-course-a-fundamentally-religious-and/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [I am particularly horrified by the use of propaganda and the manipulation of the truth and the revision of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-particularly-horrified-by-the-use-of-propaganda-and-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [A lot of times, when people send me books to read - new writers mostly - I find that the book is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/a-lot-of-times-when-people-send-me-books-to-read-new-writers-mostly-i/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [For products with revision possibilities, there is no better source available than a company going out of business!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/for-products-with-revision-possibilities-there-is-no-better-source/) [E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/) > [The best advice I can give on this is, once it's done, to put it away until you can read it with new eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-advice-i-can-give-on-this-is-once-it-s-done-to-put-it-away/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More by Will Shetterly > [There are no rules in writing. There are useful principles. Throw them away when they're not useful. But always know what you're throwing away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/there-are-no-rules-in-writing-there-are-useful-principles-throw-them/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [Moving around is good for creativity: the next line of dialogue that you desperately need may well be waiting in the back of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/moving-around-is-good-for-creativity-the-next-line-of-dialogue-that/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [Is art influential? It can be - 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' rallied abolitionists, and 'The Jungle' provoked the demand for a safer food industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/is-art-influential-it-can-be-uncle-tom-s-cabin-rallied-abolitionists/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [There've always been people in the borderland between childhood and adulthood. That state is not a matter of chronological age. It's a matter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/there-ve-always-been-people-in-the-borderland-between-childhood-and/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [Politics is a dirty business, but if you do not do politics, politics will be done to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/politics-is-a-dirty-business-but-if-you-do-not-do-politics-politics/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [In fantasy, impossible things exist. In science fiction, impossible things exist and can be understood by humans. In supernatural horror, impossible things exist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/in-fantasy-impossible-things-exist-in-science-fiction-impossible/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [Many elitists hate rap as much as they hate country, though they don't like to admit it for fear of appearing racially insensitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/many-elitists-hate-rap-as-much-as-they-hate-country-though-they-don-t/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [Country music, the music of the white rural working class, has often been mocked by elitists whose understanding of power and art was shaped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/country-music-the-music-of-the-white-rural-working-class-has-often/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [“It is better to write a bad first draft than no first draft at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/it-is-better-to-write-a-bad-first-draft-than-no-first-draft-at-all/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [It's always good to hear that people you like are happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/it-s-always-good-to-hear-that-people-you-like-are-happy/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [Unless you're writing for a humorous effect, elves or space aliens and all creatures who aren't human should at least be as strange as,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/unless-you-re-writing-for-a-humorous-effect-elves-or-space-aliens-and/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [It is better to write a bad first draft than to write no first draft at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/it-is-better-to-write-a-bad-first-draft-than-to-write-no-first-draft/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) [Explore all 13 Will Shetterly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) ## More Brilliant quotes > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [No matter how brilliant an actor is, there's always a point where they let you down, but that's all part of their journey. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hale/no-matter-how-brilliant-an-actor-is-there-s-always-a-point-where-they/) [Amanda Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hale/) > [I enjoy working with Deborah Ann, I think she's brilliant. It's been a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutina-wesley/i-enjoy-working-with-deborah-ann-i-think-she-s-brilliant-it-s-been-a/) [Rutina Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutina-wesley/) > [Gravity Falls' didn't just appear overnight - every spooky cave and moss covered tree was created by a team of brilliant artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-hirsch/gravity-falls-didn-t-just-appear-overnight-every-spooky-cave-and-moss/) [Alex Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-hirsch/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a movie that I just find flawless. Jack Nicholson... I just saw 'The Shining' again the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biehn/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-is-a-movie-that-i-just-find-flawless/) [Michael Biehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biehn/) > [“You deicde, and you make our night what you want. Brilliant and ours. Stupid and theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-phillips/you-deicde-and-you-make-our-night-what-you-want-brilliant-and-ours/) [Arthur Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-phillips/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Tom Stafford was an odd character, you know - a brilliant guy. He looked weird and I think he took a really defensive attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-fritts/tom-stafford-was-an-odd-character-you-know-a-brilliant-guy-he-looked/) [Donnie Fritts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-fritts/) [Browse all 2,403 Brilliant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The great thing about revision is that it's your opportunity to fake being brilliant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Shetterly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-it-s-your-opportunity-to-fake/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brilliant" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-it-s-your-opportunity-to-fake/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/will-shetterly-35215_brilliant_the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-i_1324614.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/will-shetterly-35215_brilliant_the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-i_1324614.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/will-shetterly-35215_brilliant_the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-i_1324614.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great thing about revision is that it's your opportunity to fake being brilliant.” — Will Shetterly", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Will Shetterly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great thing about revision is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-it-s-your-opportunity-to-fake/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/the-great-thing-about-revision-is-that-it-s-your-opportunity-to-fake/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```