If I had to choose one of my favorite parts of writing, I would pick revision. No, I’m not being sarcastic. It that may sound surprising since writers usually hate revision, but it really is my favorite part of the process. And, I think, the main reason is because I separate revision from editing, which I think is essential in the process. Take any writing course and you’ll hear it: revision is not editing, and editing is not revision. And I really do mean any writing course. They say it in freshman composition courses in college, and they say it in graduate creative writing courses. The main idea is simple. Editing is fixing grammar and style, pretty much anything that does not change the story. That’s why you can pay people to edit work. They won’t actually change the story. At least, a good editor will not change the story. […]