[Podcast Intro – 2 minutes]

Hi luminous writers, in today’s episode, we’ll explore the benefits of a systematic approach to revision, drawing from lessons in my Revision Love Workbook. I think that’s probably the best way to describe it, although maybe it doesn’t sound super creative or antithetical to our creativity. But bear with me. While revision often feels daunting, especially to newer writers, a methodical approach can really transform it into a creative and, dare I say, empowering process. By the end of this episode, I’m hoping that you’ll see how revision can refine your work, making it shine. I’ll also share a little bit from writers who’ve used the workbook, revealing how it transformed their writing. I’ll sprinkle those throughout the episode.

[Segment 1: The Struggle with Revision – 5 minutes]

Let’s start with this truth: revision is hard. It can be really hard. After pouring your heart into writing a draft, that creative spark that you caught and the flow that you got into as you were doing that drafting, the last thing you want to do is tear apart that magic, but here’s the reality—that’s where the magic happens. Actually, most of writing is revision.

Writing is revising. It’s probably something you’ve heard before in writing circles, but what does it really mean? I believe it gets to the core of why so many writers struggle with revision: we tend to think of our first drafts as precious, something fragile we need to protect. But in reality, the first draft is just the foundation. It’s the raw material from which we sculpt the finished piece. It’s messy and incomplete by design, and that’s okay—that’s its function, because writing, true writing, happens in the revision process.

Revision is where you find the heart of your story or poem, your narrative. It’s where the layers start to emerge, and the connections between ideas and themes begin to make sense. It’s where you stop worrying about getting it ‘right’ and instead start thinking about how to make it resonate. When you let go of the attachment to the first draft, that’s when you allow yourself to see the real potential in your writing. And again, I do think that’s where the magic happens, and there’s a way to capture that magical feeling you get when you’re drafting in the revision process. It’s different, but it’s nonetheless also quite magical.

So many of us have been there when the draft is done, but we’re stuck on what comes next. So maybe you’ve tried a little bit of revising, and you’re not sure where it’s going, or you felt like you’ve broken it apart, and you’re not sure how to put it back together, and you just think, okay, I need to outsource this. This is often the stage when we outsource our opinions. We’re unsure what’s working and what isn’t, so we turn to others for guidance. And you know me, I’m definitely a proponent of workshopping your writing with the right people who understand your work and your project. However, I’m not in favour of completely surrendering your own voice and vision or, unthinkingly, without consideration, accepting others’ interpretations of your intentions.

We write to be read, so I also am not a proponent of trying to publish a first draft. You do need to take the work deeper and bring the intelligence, cohesion, and care that comes from revising—repeatedly visiting the work to understand what it’s all about and making it stronger and more resonant by exploring themes and what you are here to say with rigour and care. That’s a promise you make as a writer who’s writing to be read, that you’ve done that rigorous work in that careful consideration, and the reader is holding you to that promise by reading your work. And if you break that promise, it really doesn’t compel the reader to continue reading your work.

I’ve been especially thinking about this as I’m currently reading submissions for Room magazine’s poetry contest. So often, I notice places where submissions could use more honing of ideas. More thoughtful revision to get at what the writer is really trying to say. Many of these poems have strong voices and concepts, but the themes or emotions could be more fully explored with just a bit more refinement in revision. And this is not to pick on the people who enter the contest, and thank you, if you are one of those people, we really appreciate you, and I’m sure there’s lots in your writing to appreciate as well. But I also want to reinforce that idea that no matter how talented a writer is in first draft, or how much magic does happen and things crackle and you’ve got these great lines and ideas coming out in first draft, revision is really essential for bringing out the best in all of our work.

So I’ve learned through years of working with writers that the revision process can feel overwhelming for everyone. Maybe at one point I thought it was just me, but it’s definitely a lot, a lot of writers, and that’s why I built the Revision Love Workbook—to offer clear, manageable steps that guide you from that first draft to something you feel proud to share. The workbook is structured to help you through every part of the process, whether you’re refining your opening, working on structure, or trying to “stick the landing” with your ending. It’s packed with strategies that work across genres.

One section of the workbook that I’ve seen help so many writers is the beginning part called “Start in the Middle.” Instead of getting bogged down in the first pages of a draft, this exercise has you dive straight into the heart of your story, right where the tension is highest. And that may apply also for poetry. And I always have options that work for both narrative and poetry in the workbook. By doing this, you can rediscover the emotional core of your work and build outwards with greater clarity.

Before releasing Revision Love, I beta tested the workbook with the help of writers in my course community. Thank you all! Their collaboration was key in making sure the lessons truly helped writers in many genres. We had poets, short story writers, memoirists, and even novelists testing the exercises. The diverse group provided invaluable feedback and insights.

What I loved most about this process of beta testing was seeing how the workbook applied to such a variety of voices and forms. Each writer approached their work differently, yet the systematic revision steps helped them all make significant progress, regardless of their genre, regardless of who they are as writers as well, too. And one of the most satisfying moments was hearing from a poet who said, “I never thought a workbook focused on revision could be useful for poetry, but this really helped me see my work in a new light.”

One of the first writers who used the workbook, Heidi, said: “Right off the bat, I noticed how comprehensive this workbook is… It feels like an entire writing course, before I’ve even delved into the lessons.” That’s the goal—to give you everything you need to take your draft from rough to polished, all while enjoying the process.

[Segment 2: Start in the Middle – 5 minutes]

So I mentioned my lesson on starting in the middle. And you probably are not surprised by that. That’s not like a big epiphany, like, oh, I need to start in the middle. You’ve probably heard that before. It is a pretty conventional expression when it comes to talking about revising writing, or how to start a story and how to begin a narrative, even how to begin a poem to put us in the middle of something. The middle is where the heart of your story lies—the pivotal moments, decisions, and conflicts that drive your narrative, your poetry forward. By starting in the middle, you bypass a lot of the structure that happened in early drafts that you needed to get into the core of what makes your story special.

So, if you are currently revising a piece or you have a draft that you’re not really sure what to do with, just take a moment now to think about the moment in your current draft where the tension is the highest, where something vital has happened, where we’re really in the heart of things, the thick of things, without that on-ramping that gets us into that heart of things. What is the heart? And can you start the story there? What would happen if you start your story or poem there?

This approach has helped many writers. Wendy, another writer who used the workbook, shared: “The essays people enjoy the most have been revised through your process.” Starting in the middle forces you to confront the strongest parts of your story, allowing you to build outwards with clarity and purpose.

[Segment 3: How to Stick the Landing – Endings Lesson – 4 minutes]

Now I want to talk about endings. And this actually does follow the process of the workbook, where we begin in the middle and then we jump right to the end. But we also don’t resolve the ending early on in the process too. We just start asking questions and thinking about it. As a former guest on the podcast told me, endings are really personal, so endings can be one of the trickiest parts of writing. Of course, we all, I think part of it is we all know we need to work really hard at the beginnings and starting in the middle and creating, you know, setting the stakes early on and getting everything set up, but the endings can tend to be a little bit neglected as a result of all that focus on the beginnings. As an editor, I’ve seen so many pieces that start strong but struggle to stick the landing. The Revision Love Workbook includes exercises that guide you through experimenting with different types of endings—whether it’s ending with a striking image, a line of dialogue, or leaving things open-ended to allow readers to ponder.

So I encourage you now to think about your current ending of a piece. Maybe it’s the same piece that you thought about when we were talking about the middle, beginning in the middle, or maybe it’s a different piece. But is there a possibility that you could end it a moment sooner, or revisit an earlier image to create resonance? What are some other possibilities for your ending, knowing that they are very personal too, that there are maybe fewer rules, I guess, about how—I mean, I think most writing rules can be broken as long as you’re familiar enough with them, but I think there are even fewer rules that we would ascribe to endings, and it can be your choice, but make it a really deliberate choice.

Agata, another writer who used the workbook, said: “I was amazed at how in-depth the revisions were, and how supportive the language was… It pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to try new directions with my short story.” That’s what revision should do—help you explore new possibilities and push beyond what’s comfortable to find something that resonates deeply with your readers.

[Segment 4: The Workbook as a Long-Term Tool – 2 minutes]

One of the things I love most about the Revision Love Workbook is that it’s designed to be a resource you can return to again and again. The exercises, such as honing your narrative structure or focusing on character development or focusing on character and setting, can apply to every new project you take on. It’s not just for one genre or one piece of writing—it’s for anyone who wants to take their work deeper, whether you’re a poet, novelist, or essayist or all of the above and you vary between different genres.

For example, the “Structure” section of the workbook asks questions that help you see the shape of your story and its internal logic, ensuring your writing is not only engaging but also well-crafted. One writer told me that this section transformed how they approach their drafts, helping them to create a narrative flow that truly resonated with readers.

Wendy, who has used the lessons in this workbook as a member of my course community for multiple projects, told me how much she appreciates the fillable PDF format, saying: “It’s satisfying to complete sections, but even better—it becomes a living document that grows with you as a writer.” I love that idea of it being a living document. And of course, because it’s in PDF format, you can have multiple living documents for each piece that you want to put through the process.

[Segment 5: Final Thoughts and Call to Action – 2 minutes]

So, if you’re ready to fall in love with the process of revision, I encourage you to grab a copy of my Revision Love Workbook. It’s packed with exercises and insights to guide you from stuck to spectacular. You can find it at rachelthompson.co/workbook, and I promise you’ll come out of the experience with a clearer, more polished version of your writing. And it’s on sale this month. So as of this recording, the workbook is on sale until the end of October.

Revision is hard, but it’s also where the magic happens. You don’t have to go through it alone—this workbook is here to support you every step of the way.

So, if you’re ready to transform your writing and embrace the revision process with confidence, I encourage you to grab a copy of the Revision Love Workbook. Whether you’re struggling with structure, tightening up your narrative, or deepening your themes, this workbook is designed to help you every step of the way. You can find it at rachelthompson.co/workbook, on sale this month, and I promise it will be a companion you turn to with every new draft.

Thank you for joining me today, and if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with other writers who might benefit from these insights. Don’t forget to subscribe for more tips and discussions on how to write, publish, and shine. Also, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be taking a short break from the podcast. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with new episodes that will focus on some specifics of writing craft, diving deeper into the skills and techniques that help us improve as writers. Until then, keep writing and keep revising!

[Podcast Outro]

The Write, Publish, and Shine podcast is hosted by me, Rachel Thompson, with sound editing by Adam Linder.

To learn more about my work supporting writers, visit rachelthompson.co and sign up for my weekly Writerly Love Letters, packed with encouragement for your writing journey.

Share this episode with other luminous writers by directing them to rachelthompson.co/podcast or by searching for “Write, Publish, and Shine” wherever they get their podcasts.

I acknowledge the El Muzina Bedouin lands in South Sinai, Egypt, where I record. I also want to reiterate that I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people and condemn the Israeli apartheid, genocide, and contravention of international law. It’s really anguishing to bear witness to this and watch purportedly liberal democracies not just stand by, but wholly enable and support these atrocities.