Becoming a writer witch
In 1999 when I was at the University of Montana, I attended a workshop with the poet Jorie Graham. I was there as an observer as I was in the fiction MFA program, not poetry. Several poets submitted a poem to workshop with Graham. I'll never forget watching as she took one person's pretty good poem and turned it into a stunning poem simply by deleting. She didn't suggest a single addition, just suggested deleting this word, this line, etc. It was MAGIC. I love the revision process now. When it goes well, I feel like a good witch, taking the ingredients of the spell that is the first draft and transforming it into a real story. (Though sometimes I wish I could give it to Jorie Graham and beg her to do it for me. Genius.)
I recently found a couple pages of notes I took from that workshop and thought I'd share them here. These are 12 years old and are not direct quotes but my paraphrasing what Graham said, so it's possible I have misunderstood her. Although she's talking about poetry, I think what she taught applies in interesting ways to fiction as well.
Poetry is a conversation with silence
First lines you write (in free verse) establishes a rhythm and all else is in conversation with that.
Don't think in terms of liking a poem. Can you do what the poem is asking you to do? (Goes along with our discussion here.)
Cliche is exceptionally good writing that isn't fresh
Write a poem blind, instinctual. In order to edit, you have to learn to be a reader of your own work. A workshop is practice at being a reader of others' works.
Write to complete self
Wallace Stevens is seen as a cerebral poet and Walt Whitman is seen as a sensual poet. In fact, Stevens is sensual, so his poetry strains toward cerebral, and Whitman is cerebral, and his poetry strains toward the sensual.
That last point I find so interesting and encouraging. And so true. Whatever weaknesses we have as writers (or as human beings) can become our strengths. We are not doomed. As we grow as writers, we study our words and detect our weaknesses. We hone our abilities to read critically in workshops. We read great writers who can do (seemingly naturally) what we can't. We learn.
When I was an untested writer in an MFA program, I was well aware of my weaknesses: I was not a poet. I lacked the ability to describe a setting and a scene so that the reader felt as if she were there. My writing was sparse and un-lyrical. I struggled to put well-rounded characters on the page. Twelve years later, reviews of my writing often describe my writing in opposite way. I hope to keep improving. I hope as a writer I keep evolving. We are never stuck. As long as we are readers, we are never stuck.