Reading Books Twice and Editing Your Writing

My Book Club is reading a book for this month that I had read when it first came out. Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale was a bestseller for a very long time. I decided I'd skim through the book to refresh my memory, but once started, I was hooked and I read the 400+ page book in entirety. For anyone who has not read it, the book is about occupied France during WWII, the misery, deprivation, and cruelty the French people endured for the many years of war. A fine story about two sisters and the different roles they played in that period of France's history and also beautifully written by Kristin Hannah, who has had many excellent books published. If you haven't read it, I would definitely recommend it, but be prepared to have your heart hurt.

I found that I not only got the story again but noted more details than the first time around. Have you ever seen a movie more than once and noted that you 'saw' so much more on the second or third time? It's the same with books that we read again.

All of this brings me to today's topic. As I was finishing the book last evening, I thought about the idea of seeing more in the story this second time. It's no different from the things we write, put away and then read and work on again. 

How many times have you read in this blog that you should put a first draft away to mellow a bit before you proofread, edit and revise? I guarantee you will see things that totally escaped you when you read it over once after the first draft was completed.  

You'll find mechanical errors such as spelling, punctuation, spaces (none or too many)between words, and more. Sentences that sounded just fine when you wrote them might suddenly look far too long and involved. Clarity might need working on. Dialogue, if there is any, could need some revising. Characters might need further development.

So, why didn't you see it when you wrote it in the first place? Your brain was concentrating on getting the story down, the idea across or whatever your main aim was in writing the draft. After you have ignored it for a few days, or even longer, you 'see' it in a different light. 

Just for fun, go into your files and pull up something you wrote five or ten years ago. Read it. You may be surprised, even dismayed when you do. When I look back at some of my old stories, my first thought is always that I could write that so much better now.  Maybe the idea of what you wrote is still fine, and parts of it are most likely written very well, but you'll most likely find plenty of places where you could have done a little better. 

I believe that the more we write, the stronger writer we become. Looking back at your early writing and comparing it to what you write now will probably show this. 

When I urge you to put the first draft to bed for a few days, it's not just an idle suggestion. It is meant to help you produce the best piece of writing that you can.