Confessions of a Non-Reviser by Elizabeth Gaffney

Confession time: I am not a reviser.

I am a one-shot, get-it-done, first-draft-is-good-enough writer. I have enough natural ability with words and language that revision seemed unnecessary. 


Unfortunately, that time has passed.


I started incorporating the revision process into my work several years ago when I was transferring all my angst-y poems from my 20s from hand-written journals to word processing.   I realized as I was typing that what I said may have captured the “essence” of the moment, but not in a way that was eloquent or even made complete sense.


So as I typed, I revised. Cleaning up the language. Rearranging phrases for clarity and impact. And a strange thing happened. It got better, as most things do with a little tinkering, whether it be an extra dash of spice in a sauce or relooking at 25-year-old poems.


I suppose my personal rejection of revision comes from being trained as a writer in the one-shot, non-workshop era. Write. Turn it in. Move on. That’s how I was taught as a kid.


Luckily, it worked for me. As a student, my first draft was good enough that teachers were generally pleased and “rewarded” my efforts with As. No revisions necessary. 
                                       

But in re-looking at my old writings, I see how if I had been taught strategies on revising or given time in class to tinker and talk through writing with a peer, I might have produced better, more sophisticated pieces.


And it might not have taken 25 years to value revision.


I have had to make some fundamental changes in my writing life. While I still write very much in the moment, as “inspiration” strikes me, I come back for a second look. And a third. And sometimes more.


I have had to seek out models of writing to gather some strategies and ideas for expanding, clarifying and tightening ideas.


Most of all, I have had to shift my belief that a writer doesn’t get it “right” the first time.


So now I am a tinker-er. A reviser. A re-seer. And that is now good enough for me.



Elizabeth Gaffney teaches 9th and 11th grade ELA in Chandler, Arizona. In her 24 years of education, she has taught in rural and suburban schools at all levels of secondary English, as well as serving as yearbook advisor, peer mentor coach, AP Literature team lead, curriculum writer and drama coach. For the past four years, Gaffney has been a district level academic coach and curriculum specialist, focusing on formative assessment practices, supporting ELL teachers and creating and teaching professional development courses for all high school English teachers. She returns to the classroom this fall to continue her passion for teaching students. She is also pursuing her National Board certification in English Language Arts - Adolescence and Young Adulthood. You can follow her on Twitter @bookcoach68.