Revisit and Revise Your Writing

Have you ever noticed when you go back and visit a place that holds important memories for you how it suddenly reminds you of that time in your life?

When you revisit a place like that it can stimulate your memory. Your senses may even liven up as you take in the smells, sights and sounds. This has happened to me many times, at places like Lake George in Upstate New York, the mountains in New Mexico, the manic highways of Southern California, beaches in Florida, or back in Rome, New York where I spent the last two years of high school.

It can be really good to revisit such sights, particularly when you are researching for your memoir or life story.

All good writing benefits from revision

Just as important is going back and revisiting earlier life writing. All good writing benefits from revision.

But often we are too close to our writing.

We need to write.

Then take a break.

Get away from it.

Let it sit.

And after a while, maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a month, return to your writing and revisit what you have scribed. How does it strike you now?

Every time I have used this strategy with my writing I have found that I would revise and eventually make the writing stronger. Every time.

Revisit. Revise.

Both are ways you return to something and they can help you remember.

Memories can be tricky. We often remember things a certain way and it can be difficult to change our minds unless we really spend time seeking out what happened.

Truth is vital in your life stories, but it is “your truth” and that will inevitably be subjective.

I believe that the process of revisit and revise can yield real benefits.

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