One of the secrets of getting published is revision. Many aspiring writers think this means doing two or three drafts. They move around sentences or delete or add paragraphs; and then they hit the send button. This my friends is not revision. This is tinkering.
Revision is going over a story word by word and sentence by sentence while asking yourself, is this the right word in the right place? Is this the right spelling of the word? Is the sentence that the word is in clear? Is this the right punctuation for this sentence? Is this sentence in the right place in the paragraph? Is this paragraph in the right place in the story?
That my friends is revision. And the entire story must go through this kind of revision several times over a period of days or weeks or even months. Publishable flash fiction is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.
After talent and perseverance it is revision that separates the published from the unpublished.
December 1, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Please feel free to translate my work letting the reader know that it is from The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.
You will find my personal information in About Me. Beyond that I wish to remind anonymous.
December 1, 2008 at 4:19 pm
It is not unusual for me to revise a story more than ten times. I like revision. Revision is what produces good writing.
December 1, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Very good advise to obstinate writers like i was once before. More power to you.
November 30, 2008 at 9:23 pm
dear
i m awriter\translator from egypt and want to translate some of your short story as i like your writing and want some information about you
dr \ali