You want to know a secret? There are no great writers.
I know, I know. I hear you saying 'What?!? I might not be a great writer, but what about all those amazing published authors?!?!'
Nope. No one writes well. But anyone can rewrite well. :)
This is a really, really great quote to keep in mind. A reminder that it's not going to be right the first time, and that's okay! I've just about finished the first draft of Dragons' Bane, and though part of me looks at it and cringes at how terrible it is, part of me looks at it and just grins super big at how great it could be once I start polishing it up. :)
Honestly, people read books and think 'wow, this author is so amazing...I could never be that good!' But I was reading a post by Marissa Meyer (author of The Lunar Chronicles, one of my favorite series EVERRR :D ) talking about her writing process and some of the things she struggles with in writing, and it really helped put things in perspective. Like, I know no one write perfection, and certainly not on the first draft, but I did think there was some extra skill these famous authors had that I was lacking and hoped to achieve one day.
Guess what? There's no secret formula. They are just amazing rewriters.
See, one thing I found I did a lot with my stories is used the same phrases again and again. I thought I just wasn't creative enough...but then I read Meyer's post, and I was kind of amazed even to read her talking about how her rough drafts had like 'gazed' in every third sentence and 'nodded' like crazy (these are the type of things I struggle with!) and that she does a search and highlights them all to see where she needs to change the phrases and make them more creative, and that she has to do a separate check for unnecessary words, tightening the prose, description, etc, etc.
I knew there was no secret formula, but I guess, in a way, I still hoped there was. Some technique I hadn't learned that once I had, I could become an amazing an author as Marissa Meyer or Ted Dekker or Suzanne Collins, you know?
But there isn't. And I guess today is a special day, 'cause there are a lot of great 'rewriting quotes to back me up here. Enjoy.
No one is a great writer. But you sure can be a great rewriter. :)
