Write, review, revise, write, repeat. Part 1
The revision process in this class was like nothing I've ever done before. It felt so liberating. You chose where your piece was going as opposed to being told what you should end up with. To pick the brain of Jason Palmeri was absolutely wonderful! He's so uplifting and gives you insight without pushing you to follow him. I shared with him a small moment composition I was working on for publication. The goal was to keep it to 100 words or less. Here's what I sent him.
Small Moment, Big Changes
It was a pink shirt, meant to share the wonderful news, but it only grazed the surface of what needed to be shared.
Is Adrienne here yet? She’ll help me. She’ll make this OK. What’s Terry going to say when I tell her? Teresa’s not here today, so I don’t have a buffer.
Missy’s voice cuts through the swirl of thoughts and questions in my mind. “Oh, it’s a girl!”
Yes, girl, but at this point, that wasn’t the surprise. The surprise went deeper into my soul, my entire being, my new world. “That’s not the surprise. It’s two girls.”
Through a brief 15 minute conference, in which we actually discussed two pieces, Jason left me with these insights; don't give away the ending, change the opening of the last paragraph to throw off the reader a little, think from the perspective of the people you were talking to, give more background to the story, and write a few versions and choose your favorite.
So I did. I sent two versions back for his opinion.
Option 1
I wore the pink shirt to share the news with my colleagues. People wanted to know boy or girl without interrupting my teaching. This was an easy solution.
My brain couldn’t focus on the people crowding around. I had questions. Is Adrienne here yet? She’ll help me and make this work. What’s Terry going to say? Teresa’s not here to help me.
Missy’s voice cuts through the haze. “It’s a girl!” Her radiant smile snapped me to the present. A place I hadn’t been able to find for 18 hours. I smile. “The surprise is that it’s two girls.”
Option 2
I barged into Adrienne’s classroom. She had a rough morning getting the girls to the sitter’s. Her girls were a year old. Yet, here Adrienne was everyday. Smiling, happy, teaching the neediest preschoolers. She may arrive late most days, but that is the struggle of twins.
Missy sees the pink shirt I wore to share my news. “It’s a girl!” she says. I look at Adrienne, thoughts flying in my mind. Can you make this ok? Tell me I can do this! I feel violently pulled back to a reality that I had been escaping for 18 hours. I smile, “The surprise is that it’s two girls.”
Through an emphatic response, Jason shared his adoration for the first option, which was supported by my peer group. This was submitted to Reader's Digest 100 Word Stories.
This was something I had never experienced. I positive revision interaction. In fact, it didn't even feel like a revision. It was more like reflection. It made me throw out my thoughts on revisions as a writer. It's not red ink and grammatical errors. It's a development of the story and the voice of the writer. I began to realize that writing wasn't linear. It's not a checklist. It's a cycle. Don't fear the jump between writing, revising, reflecting. It's a process.