Re/Vision

"The first draft is a creative process, and I'm the artist or the writer at that point. When I finish, I become an editor--it's a little schizophrenic--and the editor doesn't have nearly the fun the writer has." -- Lanford Wilson

You all did a wonderful job rewriting your 10-minute plays. Most of you were fearless in your rewrites; you all took risks and that's to be commended. Revising is the toughest (and most important) part of the writing process. Most of the hard work is revision. It can take days, weeks, months, even years to finish a play. Sound discouraging? It's not meant to be. Writing isn't for the lazy. It's work. The finished product is something to be proud of.

As a beginning writer, the toughest thing you can do is cut. How do you know what to cut? I think it's instinct. You'll feel it. You have to trust those instincts. You'll feel it in your gut. If you question a line of dialogue or a scene or a character--cut it. Trust those instincts.

Remember, this is your play. I know it's easy to get overwhelmed with feedback in workshop. I think it's good to get all sorts of feedback as a beginner. Workshops allow you a different perspective on your work. You're all new and sometimes you just don't know what is good and what is bad until it's out and people say it's good or bad. I guess this is another part of the process as well. You can take or leave any comments made in workshop. Some of it was helpful; some of it was useless. That's workshop. In the end, you have to decide on what needs to be done. This is your play. Not ours.

Congratulations on your 10-minute play revisions. You've all improved your plays and you all deserve a round of applause (or better yet, a robot named Bender with an applause sign).