The Heartful Art of Revision: An Intuitive Guide to Editing

By Mark David Gerson

Transform Your Writing into the Masterpiece It Deserves to Be!

• Discover the critical "missing piece" about editing that no other book or course will tell you

• Learn dynamic, cutting-edge techniques certain to make your wor

• Language: English
• Publisher: MDG Media International
• Release date: Sep 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781950189274

Mark David Gerson

Mark David Gerson is the bestselling author of more than a dozen books. His nonfiction includes popular titles for writers, inspiring personal growth books and compelling memoirs. As a novelist he is best known for The Legend of Q'ntana fantasy series, coming soon to movie theaters.

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4. Finding the Vision in Revision

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.

Jonathan Swift

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

Henry David Thoreau

What’s Your Vision?

Do you have an overarching goal or sense of purpose for the writing project you are setting out to edit? Why did you write this story? What kind of impact do you hope it will have on your ultimate readers or, in the case of a script, your ultimate viewers?

The answers to these questions lie in your vision for this piece of writing. They may also lie in your vision for yourself as a writer.

What do I mean by vision?

Your vision is the light force of your work, the life force of your work. It’s the spirit that is its essence, the breath that keeps it alive. Your vision is your dream for your work, the expression of your intention. It’s what guides it, drives it and propels it from conception to completion. It’s what guides, drives and propels you through every stage of your creative journey with it.

The more deeply you stay connected to that vision, the more fully your published or produced project will remain true to that life force, that dream, that intention. And the truer you will be to the work that has called upon you to commit it to paper and breathe life into it.

If you don’t yet have a conscious vision, crafting a vision statement will help bring your story’s aim and intention into clearer focus. A vision statement is similar to a mission statement for a business, but it sets forth a vision for your creative enterprise, not your commercial one. It expresses your most deeply felt reasons for wanting to tell your story and puts your passion for that story into words.

Once you have a vision statement, invoking it before you settle into editing acts as a touchstone, keeping you aligned with your project’s energy, theme and focus. It guides your hand much as a jeweler might work, delicately etching the rough stone of your early drafts into the gem that reflects the vision your heart has conceived and received, then lovingly shaping and polishing it until you achieve the look and texture that most resembles that vision.

The vision statements I have composed for my books and screenplays have served as part of my gear-change from the outer to the inner, from left-brain focus to whole-brain focus, and have ensured that all my changes and revisions hewed as closely as possible to the project’s true essence…and to mine. Then, once the work is out in the world, my vision statements have helped keep me centered, whether the work attracts criticism or praise.

A vision statement can be as brief as a sentence or two or as long as a page or more. It can speak in broad terms about your role as a writer or in more specific terms about your project’s purpose.

Nor are vision statements fixed for all time. If you craft a vision statement in the early stages of your project, you may feel called to refine it to match new insights as you mature through the writing of it.

What’s your vision? Don’t think about it. Feel it. And when you start to feel it, write it. It doesn’t have to make sense to your conscious mind. Let it be what it is.

On the next pages you will find four examples of my vision statements plus Your Vision, a guided meditation to help you connect with your vision for your story and create a vision statement of your own.

¶ See the exercises that follow Secret #2 and Secret #12½ in 12½ Secrets to Whole-Brain Editing (Section 6) for alternative ways to express your vision.

My Vision

My Voice of the Muse Book for Writers

The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write is about freedom — freedom to grow, freedom to create, freedom to write. Through a dynamic blend of motivational essays, inspiring meditations and practical tools, tips and exercises, it nourishes, nurtures and reassures its readers, inspiring them to open their hearts, expand their minds and experience, with ease, a full, creative life.

My Legend of Q’ntana Fantasy Novels &