First Drafts Are Not Final Drafts
Here is a secret that every professional writer knows: the first thing you write is NEVER the finished product. It is called a first draft — a starting point that you will make better.
Every author, journalist, screenwriter, and poet writes a first draft and then improves it. Some famous books were rewritten 10 or 20 times before they were published!
There are two ways to improve your writing:
EDITING: Fixing mistakes. This means checking for:
- Capital letters at the beginning of sentences
- Periods, question marks, and exclamation points at the end
- Spelling errors
- Missing words
REVISING: Making it better. This means:
- Adding more details
- Choosing stronger words
- Making sentences clearer
- Adding feelings or descriptions
Editing is like fixing a scratch on a painting. Revising is like adding more beautiful colors to it.