Have you heard about the Persuasion Jane Austen revision? Even Jane Austen had to revise, as ever novelist does. So, if you are a writer in the process of revision a manuscript you are not alone. We all have rough drafts. And not every writer has been as lucky as we are to have word docs and cut and paste features that make it easy to move stuff around.
In case you’re not familiar with Jane Austen, (16 December 1775-18 July 1817) she was an English novelist whose works of fiction earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. And now because of the magic of the digital age, we are able to see rough drafts of her manscripts online. Proof that even Jane Austen, one of the most famous novelists to ever live, revised her manuscripts. And from the looks of it, she revised extensively.
The Jane Austen’s Fiction Manuscripts Digital Edition has gathered 1100 pages of fiction written in Jane Austen’s own hand. Unlike the famous printed novels, all published in a short span between 1811 and 1818, these manuscripts trace Jane Austen’s development as a writer from childhood to the year of her death; that is, from 1787 (aged 11 or 12) to 1817 (aged 41). Here is Persuasion Jane Austen revision:
So all you writers out there, take heart. Even the best writers on the planet have to spend time revising and honing their work.
Thanks to my friend, John Grabowski, for sending me this link. You can check out his blog and novel here.
P.S. I am an ex-shrink who writes award-winning novels. Check out my books here.
That is so cool! It’s good to know I stand in good company – at least as far as needing to revise extensively! (Wish I wrote as well as Jane, too.)
Actually, Anne, Jane apparently didn’t write that well, at least grammatically, until she was proofed by an editor.
But isn’t it amazing how hard writing was before the typewriter and word processor? How DID Tolstoy write War and Peace by hand?? How did Virginia Woolf write all those complex, super-dense novels?
Makes me feel positively lazy by contrast.
Yes, John, we must never forget the contribution of a really good editor.
Like John, I cannot begin to fathom hand-writing anything, much less a novel. Even using a typewriter would be impossible. I do wonder when Austen revised. I do a lot of revision as I write (I’ve already changed and moved things around in this comment!) but I don’t do a lot of revision after that. In other words, I do very little rewriting the next day, next week, next month. So I wonder if Austen’s corrections were made on the fly or, let’s say, after the entire draft was completed.
Hi Scout,
For myself, I have to have a “no tinker” rule–something I picked up in a writers group many years ago. I get an entire (really rought) first draft of a book down before I go back and start tinkering. Otherwise,I can get lost in the tinkering. I think it’s great that you can tinker as you go along!!
People on facebook are weighing in, where I also posted this. Here’s a sampling:
C.C.: Interesting. I wonder, in years to come, will all our revisions and creative processes be lost, as it’s all digital? Unless ‘track changes’ is saved in earlier drafts!
Me: Hi Carolyn,
I thought of this, too! Great minds….
I have wondered if universities in the future will store the hard drives of great writers in their libraries. Or perhaps by then everything will be digitalized and we will go to an online wa…rehouse where we can catch a glimpse of our favorite writers archives.
Great to hear from you!
Susan
C.C.: Indeed. And then again – perhaps if we have a great technology melt-down, it will all be lost! A scary thought. Hope you folks are well.
E.M.: Thanks Susan. These originals bring mixed emotions. Last Christmas, I gave a cherished friend’s Dad a photo of the original manuscript of Franz Gruber’s Silent Night
Me: Elliott, that is very special indeed. In this fast-paced, ever-changing world, I worry sometimes that our “originals” (including people) will get lost.
Thanks for commenting!
E.H.: They should present items like this in the classroom. As students, we read works of genius by writers like Austen and Dickens and then, when asked to write, we feel totally inept (at least I did). I think I would seriously have benefitted from knowing that writing is a difficult process for everyone.
Me: I agree, Elizabeth.I think we need to be taught how to write and how to revise by very kind, gentle teachers who have done the process themselves!