Oscar Wilde once spent a day revising a poem. In the morning he removed a comma. In the afternoon he put it back.

Any thoughts on revision - when is enough, enough?

Well, I think it's two different worlds with revising poetry and doing the same with a story.

Making the slightest change to a line in a poem could change the whole meaning behind it all, and alter the format of high school text books for decades to come. Therefore you have to be fairly careful what you change.

You have a little more license with changing a story though, as meaning is built up over time, rather than in short bursts of emotion.

That's my opinion anyway.

Depends if you have a deadline!

It usually takes me a couple of revisions to get rid of any spelling mistakes, and rewrite any parts to make them clearer.

Any further passes through my stories tend to add a few more details (if word limits allow) or take out anything that doesn't add to the story at all.

With more time I'd probably make more revisions. I guess you stop when you have a balance between being happy with the story, and the time spent on it?

Thanks IB and BJ, good points all round, I thought. But I'm lazy, and when something's done, it's done. But three months later, it isn't, If you see what I mean. So four years and sixteen revisions later, it's still in the draw. I need someone to tell me when to stop! Or maybe I just haven't got it, in which case it'll never be done. At least to anyone's satisfaction but my own. And that's a thought that encourages melancholy!

On Revision.
I have taken 'a' out and replaced it with 'the', removed commas and replaced them. Anal, (is this how you spell it?), but it can be vital in a short story where every word and pause counts.
At the moment I am working on a story I first put together in 1996 and although the material itself is good, I was embarrassed by the way I'd written it. Now I can do it with 7 years more writing experience behind me. It's true that when I read my old stories I think of ways I'd change them now. I often make 2 or 3 versions of a story before I'm happy with it, that's revision isn't it? I just revised 'Dust' after Hilary gave me some good hard criting and it's a lot improved, I feel happy with it now and will leave it alone. If I keep on revising something and it doesn't feel right I throw it in a drawer, and take it out a few years later to see what can be salvaged.
Becca.

Thanks Becca. I'm glad I'm not alone. Problem is, my drawer's getting a bit full now. No room for socks.

When I wrote poetry rather than novels, I found that a good poem expressed a moment in time and how I felt right then. The trouble is that the clock keeps on ticking, and while emotions may be timeless, we change continually. Polishing a piece is one thing, because every word must bear its own weight, but updating a piece to reflect who we have become since we first wrote it can make it lose its lustre.

Thanks Paul.I think that's an extremely valid and useful point.

I take your point Paul, but there's another way to look at it, first it's a hard thing to do so it stretches you, second when the story you're trying to tell is a really good one,(only when you tried it the first time you weren't up to the task), it's worth having another go at it. It's an interesting process. I've never considered the idea of updating a piece to reflect who I have become, (I try to stand outside my stories). For me it's more that good story ideas aren't that common, or say, stories that move me enough to write them.
Becca.

Hi Roger,
I keep my drawers in my computer these days and my socks in an old wicker basket.
Becca.

Problem with that, Bec, is that I've not passed my test and I keep crashing the computer. When it's up and running again (usually involving vast expenditure...why do little blokes in blue smocks and thick glasses earn so much?) Lo and behold, the 'drawers' are all empty - four years down the pan. Back it up, you say? Tried that; put the floppy thingy in and never saw it again.

Back to the point- nobody has yet told me when to stop. The Oscar Wilde method holds immense appeal to me, but then he was pretty clever wasn't he? Probably tended to get it right first time. Help?

I've got a painter friend who has the when- to- stop problem. I suppose it could be finished when your reader really enjoys what you've written, or your viewer enjoys what you've painted. I think you know when something isn't finished by the responses you get. Some things can't be finished no matter how much you try. Oh, I'm talking crap, I don't know the answer, it's either finished when you're bored sheetless with it, or you love it and there's a right feeling about it.
Becca.

No, you're not talking crap, Bec. In fact I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Thanks for that.