R is for Revision

R is for that dreaded word, Revision. Sure, once you have a publisher for your work, you'll have an editor who will work with you to make your book the best it can be. But before you even submit to a publisher, YOU have to revise, revise, revise until the book is as good as YOU can make it.

Revising takes a different kind of skill than writing. You have to be able to look at your work objectively. You can't fall under the spell of your prose but forget to check if you've spelled things right, punctuated properly, avoided repetition of your favorite phrases, etc. Not to mention making sure the story line makes sense, the dialogue is realistic, the hero and heroine not perfect but compelling.

Today's Tarot deck is the Winged Spirit Tarot. Here are a couple of sample cards from the deck:

 
 Images courtesy of Aeclectic Tarothttp://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/winged-spirit/ 
I asked the Tarot to show me the area I'm most likely to need to revise. The card I drew is the King of Wands. This card represents creativity and imagination, a dynamic artistic nature. I interpret this to mean the biggest problem I may find in my writing and need to revise is my lovely prose. Just like K is for Kill Your Darlings, I'm likely to get carried away with the beauty of my words, the mellifluous sound of the prose, to the point of overdoing it. I need to make sure the beauty advances the story line, not just my ego!