Artists in various disciplines sometimes comment on the process of working from an initial idea toward published versions of their works. For those learning in the arts, one powerful message within such commentary is the general commonality and value of leaning into a practice of improvement over time through successive revisions of a work. This could be contrasted against the notion some students have that great works emerge relatively whole and complete most of the time.
The author of this article could review the revision practices of various established artists, comparing their similarities and differences. The article could restrict itself to a single discipline (e.g. a certain type of writing), or could take a multi-disciplinary view.
This topic is an excellent article for arts university students and creative entrepreneurs.
Perhaps the revision practices of artists might go in the direction of the opinions of artists and give examples of the real-life processes of different artists. The author might develop more ideas around the practices of various artists. – Richard2 years ago
Great topic. I think this article would be well paired with an analysis of how technological innovations, such as those in recording, have ingrained this idea of 'easy perfection' - for example, in the realm of classical music, we are now far less accustomed to hearing the natural mistakes and slips that occur in live performances, simply because most of our interaction with composed music is through perfect, edited, perfected takes. – gracejjohnson2 years ago
Great topic! I think extending it as a multidisciplinary article would be very enjoyable and informative to read. It could not only explore different disciplines but also different mediums (unless that is what you meant and I misunderstood) – Anna Samson2 years ago
There are many guides on how to write, but the published story is not the art of the first draft. I would love to see someone write revision tips, but not the usual found in the web like "read aloud," "leave it for a few weeks" (Of course you can go that path too.), but their own unique editing style that other writers would find useful.
This is an interesting idea, though I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of tips are merely common ones that websites would suggest. Maybe it can be written in realtime, as if the person is actually going through a revision process and acting out what they are doing. That may be a fun way of allowing the readers to really see a "day in the life" scenario of someone revising a story. – Filippo9 years ago
Oh. Or someone who would review revision tips? LOL Like someone who does all the steps with a sample short story draft and then, he/she would work on editing through popular editing tips and would show the final product? Is that even possible? LOL – Jill9 years ago
Honestly, my revision style is just constant reading and rereading. I don't read aloud, though perhaps I should. I rely on my eyes to catch mistakes. Some mistakes slip through the cracks, but generally, after a few revisions, I have caught all the major ones. Another thing I do is take notes. For instance, if I name a character's childhood best friend Beatrice, I want to note that down and make sure that in the rest of the story I continue to refer to her as Beatrice. Writing out timelines to keep dates correct, ages right, and other timing consistent is also helpful when revising. The main mistakes I make (and many other authors make) is little inconsistencies in their first drafts, when they forget previous details while writing on. They forget timing, names, and other details. Revising is all about making these details consistent. – Robyn McComb9 years ago