Ann Podracky, Graduate student, MFA Program in Creative Writing and Literary Translation
- Admit that you are powerless when it comes to revision.
- Come to believe that a power greater than yourself will help you revise work that has haunted you for months, perhaps years.
- When you start, ask the higher power to ensure that you won’t become distracted with stains on the wall beyond your computer screen and spend an hour looking for the right cleaning product which you find and rub vigorously on the stains until all the paint is removed from the wall so you get dressed and go to the local paint store which is five blocks from where you live, spend another hour choosing the right color for your wall, return home and realize it is the wrong color, go back to the local paint store where the store clerk refuses to exchange the paint which agitates you until you scream, “When did you revise your policies!” which brings up a word that reminds you of your goal for the day so you scream some more, pick up the paint and posture to throw it until the store owner tells you to leave, at which point you walk home, open the door and see the stains and your work waiting for you. But you are hungry, you go to the refrigerator. You see a smudge on the shelf. 4—12. Repeat steps 1—3.