Miller on revision
I finished Tropic of Cancer, and it was good enough that I plucked Tropic of Capricorn off the shelf and read the first several pages before returning to my next-in-line, Mo Yan's Change. I also found The Paris Review's interview with Henry Miller. Here he is on revision:
INTERVIEWERHow do you go about revising?MILLERWhen I’m revising, I use a pen and ink to make changes, cross out, insert. The manuscript looks wonderful afterwards, like a Balzac. Then I retype, and in the process of retyping I make more changes. I prefer to retype everything myself, because even when I think I’ve made all the changes I want, the mere mechanical business of touching the keys sharpens my thoughts, and I find myself revising while doing the finished thing.
INTERVIEWERHow do you go about revising?MILLERWhen I’m revising, I use a pen and ink to make changes, cross out, insert. The manuscript looks wonderful afterwards, like a Balzac. Then I retype, and in the process of retyping I make more changes. I prefer to retype everything myself, because even when I think I’ve made all the changes I want, the mere mechanical business of touching the keys sharpens my thoughts, and I find myself revising while doing the finished thing.
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