Another Revision Post

For me, revision is incredibly important. I am the kind of person that writes without stopping or correcting for my first draft, so I could never get away without revising. I like to get all my thoughts recorded before they disappear, so usually, my first draft is a huge mess that doesn't even resemble a story. From there, I pick out the pearls, line them up, and fill in all the space in between.
When I revise, I usually make major changes. I know most people just fix the grammatical errors and restructure awkward sentences, but I believe that revision should be greater. So no matter how good I think my story or essay is, I always try to play around with the plot and rework the major ideas. Sometimes I end up going back to how I had things originally, but that reworking at least gives me a chance to see other ways of telling the story. I even get ideas for new stories while I am revising once in a while. Overall, I think revision is a completely necessary step in crafting a functional story.

Poems

Here are two new poems, written for another class. I figured it couldn't hurt to send them off into the world. Maybe somebody will be kind enough to offer some feedback so I can improve them.

Edinburgh

Malt-scented Edinburgh is perched within me,
forever calling for me to return. "Why did you leave me?"
She cries from the moors.
"You belong here," she sings from the top of Arthur's Seat.
The clock made from purple heather and yellow and white roses
counts the minutes in the Edinburgh gardens until I am back again.
Greyfriars Bobby has abandoned his master,
and now waits for me to come home.







Migraine

Everything is lit up
bright white
radiating
into everything else.
I can't tell
where one thing ends
and another begins,
no matter how hard
I strain.
Two rooms over,
my cat jumps off the couch.
Twin Towers
crashing to the ground.
I scream
in agony.
The pain is too much.
Another paroxysm of nausea
sends saltine crackers,
Excedrine,
and sour, frothy, green bile
rocketing
across white bed sheets.



Hope you guys enjoy, or are at least mildly entertained for a few minutes.

<3 always,
Heather

Spring

Spring is here, and it is snowing. How poetic.

Revision

I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.


--Truman Capote


I think I agree with this quote. I find that when I write, the first few paragraphs, or lines or even pages tend to be me getting warmed up. If you revise properly, you should be able to cut away a lot of the fluff and "warmup writing" and get down the the real meat of what you're trying to get at. I think a lot of writers can benefit from cutting away everything that is not vital to the story or message of their writing.

Revision should really be a "re-seeing," not just changing a few words or a few commas. I always try to second guess and question everything in my writing when I really revise, though sometimes I leave it to the eleventh hour and I only have time to change a few major issues.

I always take into account comments from my peers and professors, and they can be very helpful, but I think it is incredibly important to take your writing in the direction YOU want it to go. I wouldn't change a piece of writing just to get an "A" on it. Fortunately, most professors grade revisions based on how much effort you put in, and not how much they actually like the piece.

I think I like revising better than actually writing something for the first time. I like making discoveries about my own work, and realizing things about characters and plot lines that I never meant to happen when I sat down to write the original.

So, there you have it, my thoughts on revision. I can't wait to read what others of you have written!

<3 always,
Heather

Storytelling

The five most important stories to tell:
the story of my parents before my birth
the story of my childhood
the story of my relationship/a first relationship/abuse
a story about psychiatric disease
a story about finding passion in an unexpected place

Stories from the past three days:
Rooney, the drunk who always gets a yogurt covered cupcake
My lit teacher's freakout last week
How Kristine finally fired the girl who stole 30 bucks from the register
The story about the crazy kid's obsession with the poem shaped like a hand
The time the homeless guy shit all over the bathroom walls at work and Alex had to clean it
The story about Alex hating his new job
The history of the Italian mafia
The history of Jersey Mike's sub shop
The story of my aunt's abusive ex-husband
The storybod my cousins from Westfield and how they taught me all the things my parents tried to hide about the world

A Love Poem

In honor of Valentine's Day, here is a love poem I've drafted for my poetry writing seminar.

I had too much to drink.

I lost count at the tenth buttery nipple.

Emerald's Corner,

floors covered with

years of spilled beer and ranch dressing

grab at sneaker soles,

they grab harder at knees and elbows.

After I blacked out,

you held my weight,

all one hundred forty pounds.

I made it out without a scratch--

woke up the next morning

in a puddle of cold piss.

I squeeze my eyes shut,

hoping I'm dreaming.

The stench of ammonia

tells me this is real.

I roll over quietly--

please please please

don't wake up--

but there you are.

honey colored,

eyes wide open,

covered in my drunk piss,

smiling.

<3 always,

Heather

Edgar Allan Poe

 When I was a little kid, my mother used to read me Poe before bedtime.  I only ever had nightmares after she read me "The Tell-tale Heart."  As an adult, I decided to look back and re-read those stories from my childhood, and I fell in love with Poe all over again.  I also realized how NOT child friendly his stories are...I wonder what possessed my mom to read them as bedtime stories.  Anyway, here is the like to the Poe museum, which has a biography, selected works and so-on.  One of my favorite poems by Edgar Allan Poe is "Sonnet: To Science," which isn't on the Poe Museum website so here is the link to that poem.

I look forward to reading what everybody else has listed as their faves.  Enjoy the day off!


<3 always,
Heather