REFLECTING ON WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN


Deane P. Goodwin - After the initial creation of any writing, I avoid looking at the results for a period varying from several hours to weeks. The main criteria for me is that I must no longer be thinking actively about the writing in question. The more intricate and involved the work, the longer the period of time which it is allowed to gestate. When I return to the writing, I must be able to view it with fresh eyes, no longer emotionally involved in the content or the act of its creation. For The Dance, the period involved, if memory serves, was something near 3 days. This was due more to constraints of daily life than any lingering passion for the words on paper. Upon reflection, it appeared in something resembling its current form, requiring the institution of changes in line length and pace, as well as some minor elimination of useless, extraneous words, to render it into the form in which it appears today. The initial format and structure, for the sake of completeness, was as follows:

The concept was there, as well as the general structure, but it became clear to me,when viewed dispassionately, that it was lacking in structure and cohesion, mostly due to the structure. This will plunge us headlong into our next section, which is revision. A possibly interesting aside, for all writers: as you may have surmised from the above presentation, I never throw ANYTHING away. Just ask my wife ! My excuse is "reference material".

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