I am also excited to share that I finished drafting the manuscript of a new novel. Not only have I finished the first draft, I have also finished the first round of revisions on it. It’s a story about friendship, community, jazz, and cocktails. As with all new manuscripts, more revisions will come, but so far I’m very happy with this story. Actually, I can’t wait to do more revisions.

Recently, I’ve realized that I prefer to revise than to write something from scratch. There’s something intimidating about the blank page. While I enjoy creating stories, writing the first draft exhausts me. But once I have that first draft, I love reading it over and making revisions. I get so excited when I can add depth to the story, tighten the language, and improve the quality of my writing.

I have heard other writers disagree and say that they prefer to write the first draft. In fact, some writing friends have told me that they hate revising. For those of you who write or create other forms of art, which do you prefer—creating from scratch or revising your work?