Editing is getting a story ready for the reader; revision is luxury of satisfying yourself. You should wallow in it.

Think of revision as an ongoing process that starts when you first think about how you will write a story to the point when you turn it over to an editor. Think of it as being nothing but a fun, positive process.

Revision is writing. This is you fashioning a sculpture in writing--molding, shaping, adding, subtracting... Think of yourself as a sculptor. The first draft is when you take a big chunk of clay and sort of mold it into a shape that looks roughly like a bust of a person.

You have a rough idea that this glob of clay has a chin and a nose...but the eyes and lips are not apparent. You are writing a rough draft.

Writing Coach Don Murray, who has written a whole book on the topic of revision, says, " "Rewriting begins before you put the first word on paper and continues until you edit the final draft--which may, in turn, inspire revision."

The revision process. How does that work? First you give it a quick scan for obvious additions or deletions, still not worried about grammar or such fine points.

Then read it aloud to yourself. Now that sounds contradictory, but you should try it, and you will discover that you can actually hear the music of your writing. Sometimes it sounds pretty nice. Other times you choke on a discordant note.

Is it too long or too short? Once I wrote a piece for an MIT publication based on an interview of more than an hour. I was told to keep it to 300 words.

Is the story clear?
Are things in the right order?
Does it flow?
Is there enough significant detail? Is there enough or too much description?
Is it the right "voice" for the story?

Where is the tension in the story? The rain fell for 36 hours. So what? The rain fell for 36 hours and forced 300 people out of their homes in Helsinki.

Does the story contain any surprise(s).
Now that you have answered all these questions, you can go back and fix up your typing and the grammar and take out all the cliches and jargon!

Remember, revision is the fun part of writing.

Good writers spend lots of time at revision.