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In that first rush of creating a poem or short story there is little time for reflection.  That’s really what revision is, reflection.

Once the writer has that first draft down then it’s time to stop being a writer and time to become an editor; but editing your own poem or story is not easy.

Then the writer must also become a reader.  The writer knows what the poem or story is suppose to be about.  It takes imagination on the part of the writer to understand that the reader does not know what the poem or story is about.  The reader can’t get inside the writer’s head, inside the writer’s thoughts.

Everything the reader needs in order to understand the poem or story must be in the the writer’s work.  The reader will bring plenty of things to the work but it’s the work that must stand alone.

Revision is the key.