Writing is rewriting

     In the back of a spare closet is a box filled with my rough drafts of Earthen Vessels (although it had a different title for all those drafts). Every time I thought I had the story as good as I could get it, I printed a copy, sealed it in an envelope and mailed it to myself. The idea is that if anyone ever tries to claim I'm not the author of this work, I can show the process it went through.
     There are 13 drafts in that box, spanning seven years. After that I quit printing every draft, and simply saved them on my computer. Not wanting to break the seal on the envelope, I don't have an exact page count on the first draft, but I'm guessing it's under 50 pages. By the time I reached drafted #8 the manuscript was so heavy that mailing it seemed too expensive, so I just printed it and put it in a binder. Draft #13 is 425 pages. The finished copy is 620. 
     I know all this because I just took a look into that box for the first time in years. I took a look because I've been a little discouraged with my work on the sequel the last few weeks. I just keep reworking the first 40 pages. I had to remind myself that the first book went through an enormous number of rewrites. It's gratifying to see how the project grew little by little.
     So with that in mind,  and in hopes of encouraging others who may be feeling the same way, I close now with a few favorite quotes from the greats on the subject of re-writing, and re-writing... and re-writing... and...
 

Michael Crichton: "Books are not written--they're rewritten."
 James Mitchner: 'I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent re-writer.'

Harry Shaw: "There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting." 

John Irving: More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting. I wouldn't say I have a talent that's special. It strikes me that I have an unusual kind of stamina.

Patricia Fuller: "Writing without revising is the literary equivalent of waltzing gaily out of the house in your underwear."

James Thurber: "My wife took a look at a first version and said, 'That's high school stuff.' I had to tell her to wait until the seventh draft."

 (thanks to http://fmwriters.com/ and brainyquotes.com for these quotes)