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"It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Bruce Hale as a speaker, workshop leader, visiting writer, or any role remotely related!"

— Diane Mark, Creative Writing Program Coordinator, University of Hawaii at Manoa

WHEN TO SAY WHEN: HOW MUCH EDITING IS ENOUGH?

By Bruce Hale

One of the most common questions I hear from writing students is "How do I know when to stop editing and revising my story?" Or in other words, "when do I say when?"

I ran into this same problem when making ahi stir-fry yesterday. I seared the fish awhile, then made a guess and tossed in the vegetables. (Wolfgang Puck I'm not.)

I wondered how long to let the whole mess fry. Would I overcook the fish or undercook the veggies? Finally, a gut feeling said, "Whoops, I think the fish is too well-done." Turned out that feeling was right.

With a meal, it's too late (unless you've got a hungry dog handy). Overcooked isn't curable. But with a story, provided you've saved your earlier drafts, over-edited isn't irreversible.

So when do you stop cooking your story?

I believe this decision comes from a gut feeling – a blend of experience and intuition.

Kids do one draft and believe they're done. But experience has taught us adult writers the importance of rewriting. Of course, the danger is that we can tend to over-think, over-edit, and try to make our story perfect.

Big news: Your story doesn't need to be perfect. In fact it will never be perfect, because story writing isn't like math. There isn't one absolute, right answer.

In fact, I'd even say that attachment to perfection is the enemy of art. In trying to get it "perfect", we inhibit ourselves from freely expressing, and we can kill what's alive in our work.

So when you edit, don't aim for "perfect." Shoot for "as good as I can make it right now." Your gut will guide you.

If you're feeling too close to the story, have a trusted writing partner read it and comment. Then, if you're still not sure, ask yourself some questions:

Have I solicited feedback from readers I trust?
Have I incorporated suggested changes that felt right to me?
Am I afraid of the response this story will receive, and am just delaying sending it out?
Is this story as good as I can make it right now?

If you answered "yes" to all those questions, you've got your answer.

Enough is enough. Trust your gut. Send that manuscript out before you overcook it. (After all, Rover won't eat an overdone story.)

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"Don't get it right,
just get it written."

— James Thurber