Mike Gust 

@mikegust184778
Film worker in Portland, Oregon.
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The systematic “draft by draft” approach to a completed story for which George advocates reminds me a little of the approach that some classical string players use to ready a new piece for performance. They set their metronome to a slow speed, only increasing it notch by notch as they engineer out the rough parts, eventually arriving at a performance-ready outcome (hopefully). Work in preparation isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not yet fully realized.

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This absolutely happens, Mike. I always say that the story exists in perfect form in the subconscious but when we go to tell it, we drop it, and it shatters.

Revision is putting the pieces back together. :)

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I only write short stories, the form I love most, and have two methods. Well, who says it must be one & anyway you can't have enough methods. This writing stuff is hard enough, so why limit yourself? The first method is what I think of as "marinating". This occurs when the subject is most dear to me. Any initial suggestions of a story, which has appeared as a flash in my brain, I'll have already captured on, usually, an index card. But it must matter to me deeply. Then I "marinate" in (not on, …

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And truly - start it again from page 1 and see where you part ways from it. Then stay there awhile, maybe write a little about why - you might even try rewriting that bit in a way that makes it work for you.