Divine Revision

Overheard at a conference . . .
Writer: God gave me this story. Every single word of it.
Consultant: Looks like God could really use an editor.

The point of this story is to poke fun at what happens when we writers become too attached to our work. We sense that our writing has come from a greater source. Yes - wonderful! But we must develop the ideas, tighten the language, hone the words and images, polish the conventions.

Unaccustomed to the Creator flowing through us, we hesitate. We're not sure how it all happened in the first place. So we conclude: better not change one single word, one comma.

Instead of getting words directly from God, most of us mortals have been given the responsibility to develop our own craft and skill, using all our faculties and energies.

If you're enamored of your writing and find it unthinkable to revise, it's time for a little time away from it. Later, you'll realize that revision too can be a divine experience.