"The first draft is the writing, right? The imaginative, wild, fun part? And revision is the work of..."

“The first draft is the writing, right? The imaginative, wild, fun part? And revision is the work of cutting, tinkering, strangling the life out of the story? Wrong! Revision is also writing. It can, and should, be as imaginative and surprising as the first draft was. You can, and should, still try new things. What silly, weird, melodramatic thing did you not allow yourself to write in the first draft? Write it in the revision! This will keep the draft fresh for you, and keep the prose alive on the page.”

-

Born and raised in rural Australia, Jen Breach lives and writes in Philadelphia. They are the author of female-led adventure middle-grade graphic novel CLEM HETHERINGTON AND THE IRONWOOD RACE and funny-punny picture book SOMETHING’S AMISS AT THE ZOO. Own voices chapter book series RILEY REYNOLDS is forthcoming from Capstone in 2022, and nonfiction picture book SOLSTICE from What on Earth Books in 2023. Jen is queer and nonbinary and believes that truth telling is the least child readers deserve. Along with a dash of mischief.

What’s your favorite part of the writing process? Let Jen know, or thank them for their Camp Care Package!

Your Camp Care Package is brought to you by Camp NaNoWriMo. Sign up to receive more Camp Care Packages at nanowrimo.org!