How much rewriting is enough?

[jack4321]

How much rewriting is enough?

[Tdol]

How long is a piece of string? If the text is good, it needs no rewriting. Until then, it's a good idea to keep working on it.

[jenby]

Just do it time after time!I think so...

[SOLEX College]

That is the beauty part about writing, there is no end to it! Ask any great writer, they are never satisfied with what they have produced. Walt Whitman rewrote and republished "Leaves of Grass" 10 times!

[have]

That is my question too. How much rewriting is enough?
I consider myself a good writer in my native language. O boy, in English I am the worst writer and I truly want to change that. When I read a well written essay or letter I always ask myself; how can’t I write like that? However this past three week I made decision, whatever it take I am going to practice, practice and practice until I feel comfortable writing. I wonder what you my friends in this forums help you to become a good writer? How much rewriting was enough for you to have confident and to say I am now good in writing?

[Make Your English Work]

I'd say that if you can't hire a professional editor, you should revise your work until it is no longer possible or reasonable to revise it again. If you have a deadline for your writing, keep revising until you can find nothing to change and are satisfied or until it is time to send off.

Great writers can bang out a good piece of writing quickly, but never a perfect piece (perhaps poems and songs are an exception). I suspect that many of the writers who churn out book after book to commercial acclaim have very good editors.

In terms of general tips that can help all writers, and especially people whose native language is not English, I'd say number one is revise and rewrite.
Number two?
Simplify.

If you have a friend who can read and revise with you, use your friend.

If you have enough money, hire an editor.

[School Assists]

Rewriting is understandable and infact necessary till one is satisfied with his writing and I think one can get there in 3 rewrites. Rewriting 9 times seems to me like the author is writing for an audience and is constantly worried if the audience will appreciate it. At the same time, i feel that such an outlook produces cliched writing. I might be wrong. Its just my humble opinion.

Mauleen Fey
School Assists

[samuelblack]

Dean Koontz, if I remember the spelling of his name correctly, writes popular horror fiction in the United States. Years ago he wrote that for every page of a book he gets published, he has written 9 drafts on average. In other words, every page is rewritten and rewritten and rewritten. He considers this part of the writing process. Why would anyone rewrite that much? If the goal is a piece that catches the reader's attention, is consistently interesting, flows smoothly, and is intellectually and emotionally powerful, but the writer has to rewrite and rewrite to get the piece up to that standard, he just puts in the time and energy and does it. I remember that in high school, rewriting a book report just to make it legible seemed a nuisance to me. But reading this comment by Mr. Koontz changed my whole attitude about rewriting. Since then, I've always considered the rewriting process as equally important as my original ideas. And I don't complain, no matter how long it takes to rewrite a piece. I just keep working.

There are some rules of writing.First you write.You must finish what you start.You must choose not to do something or partake of something from rewriting, except to editorial order.rewriting is good in a certain limit.

[RetroFit_Maneuver]

I rewrite until I'm satisfied that I've worked all the kinks out of my writing. Reading what you've written aloud is a necessary part of that process -- it helps you realize when you've written something that doesn't flow naturally.

Content is the most critical thing, though. I need to put down my writing for a day or two, then come back to it to realize where I've made mental leaps that other people cannot follow. (You make these mental leaps because the source material is so close to you.)

You've got to make yourself clear and understandable. Those are the two goals everyone is aiming at eternally.

Sometimes, I aim for "good enough," realizing that what I've written will never be spectacular. Then, you move on to the next project.

[HenryLin]

Rewriting is necessary and good if you are forming your article or story in a well and a modified manner.