Before I began working at the University Writing Center, I never really thought about revision. All of my teachers stressed it, of course, but it always seemed to me that they did so by rote rather than having a real passion for that part of the writing process. "Revision is the most important part of writing," they would say. Or, "I revise my own papers many times." That sort of blanket statement held little practical value for me as an intro student, especially when my own revision strategy included merely correcting typos or altering anything that Microsoft Word had underlined in that annoying green squiggle. In addition, during my first two years in college most of my experience was in writing academic papers. If I could get an 'A' without revising, why bother? Coincidentally, I began to take upper-level creative writing courses at the same time that I started working at the University Writing Center (UWC) as a Consultant. Suddenly, revision was everywhere.

Most students come into the Writing Center with their pieces already written and want help revising before handing the assignment in. These students honestly believe that all they need is a "quick grammar check" similar to the approach I used in my own papers. We are trained at the UWC to focus on grammar and mechanical issues only if there are mistakes so severe that they hamper the reader's understanding of the paper. Forced to set aside the method I had always relied upon, I instead was asked to read for content, organization, and support. Is the writing appropriate? Is it presented in a clear and logical fashion? Does the writer give us reason to believe him/her? When I kept those things in mind, I found that the entire half-hour's worth of consulting was taken up by them-I rarely had time to address grammar issues. I began to wonder if I should be taking a deeper look at my own writing.

My fellow workshop members got to my writing before I did, however. In that first upper-level class I was exposed to what was, at first, a disheartening fact-my pieces needed extensive revision. Creative writing, whether it is fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, is very different from academic writing. The very subjectivity that made it desirable to me also made it difficult. In more academic writing one attempts to inform or persuade, and the means by which such writing is judged are clearly understood. In creative writing, my readers must infer a more generalized meaning based on the actions and thoughts of the characters. Because the purpose of such works is never clearly stated-because the "In this paper I am going to discuss…" was taken away from me-I was faced with an entirely new challenge. I would write a piece that I felt was clear and understandable, only to be faced with comments like "why did this character do that?" "I don't understand what happened here," and "based on your earlier description, this scene just isn't believable." My first instinct was to become defensive. Surely I was being clear. It was not my fault that they couldn't grasp what I was trying to say. But I was required to revise for the class's final portfolio, and the teacher made it very clear that simply fixing mechanical errors wasn't going to cut it.

I decided to apply the techniques that I had been taught to use at the UWC, and to my surprise I found that my classmates' comments had a great deal of validity. In addition, whereas at the UWC we are not allowed to take over and make changes for the author, I had complete freedom in that regard when working with my own pieces. What had seemed to be a daunting task became exciting, and each change I made honed my work and made it more fully alive and understandable. I have worked at the UWC now for two years and have taken numerous upper-level writing courses. As I grew more comfortable with revision, I have even applied it to my more academic courses with satisfying results. While I probably could have continued to receive satisfactory scores in that type of course without revision, I found that I became more excited both during the production of my assignments and when I received my grades. I took a great deal more satisfaction in an A where I had taken an active part in the revision process, whereas I felt frustrated and drained if I had procrastinated and not revised-even if I got the same score in both papers. I am now of the opinion that if I believe what I have to say is important, revision is my chance to make sure that I am conveying all that I intend to. I am editing this paper as I write it, and find myself wondering if this is what my paper will say when I reach the final draft stage. I hope it is not; I hope to revise it.