5 Basic Revision Tactics That Don’t Involve Murder
Over the years I don’t know how many times I have heard the editing advice, “murder all your little darlings.” Advice that pushes us towards removing our favorite words, lines, or images from a poem as if we cannot trust our own instincts. Maybe second guessing yourself was a good practice for the privileged white male author who originally coined the phrase? Whether that was William Faulkner, Allen Ginsberg, or the less famous Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, I am sure the advice doesn’t serve many of us now. The authors I know need encouragement to take up space, to find their own voices, to keep inking up the page with gritty details.
Instead of harnessing fear and distrust while editing, I’ve cultivated practices that nourish my poems and my craft. The result is that for me, editing can be a real joy, where I refine and clarify a piece until it is ripe for the reader to pluck from the page. I indulge in the revision process like a spa day, like a bubble bath. I relish in the work of making poems, the pop of lavish language. Here are a few simple ways I have found to make my revision process easy to tap into and relaxing to participate in, and it’s my hope they’ll do the same for you.
As opposed to murdering, let’s nourish our poems!
Which leads me to my first editing tactic:
1) word choice
This step is twofold. First, look for patterns in your poem that might be habits. Are there words that pop up in multiple poems that are your “go to” words? Try circling these repetitions and then asking what other word choices could you be making.
The second part of this step is to underline your favorite words or phrases, focusing on where the language is unique to the poem. With these lines in mind, look to other places in the poem where you can bring in more of that kind of language. When I am searching for specific language, I’ll try flipping through reference books to find special jargon that can be incorporated into the poem. A reference book can be fashion magazines with brand names, colors, and fabric types all the way to nature guide books for the names of flora and fauna.
2) Drafts, drafts, drafts!
Don’t be afraid of having many drafts!
Sometimes—when I’m really struggling with a poem—I rewrite it entirely. I try telling the poem in reverse or mixing up the stanzas. Sometimes I’ll try out the poem in a new form, which allows me to rethink line breaks and other spacing choices. If you’re struggling with clarity, try telling the short story or journalistic version of your poem.
Then go back to your original. What did you learn? Are there things you now want to change? You may even end up with more than one poem, a part one and a part two, or two poems that respond to each other. This is a key, “little darlings,” moment: any lovely lines that don’t make it into a final draft can be saved! Keep these sweet fresh nuggets for other poems. You can then have a list of ready to use lines for times when you may be feeling stuck or in search of inspiration.
3) Small words move the action
Small words can easily clog a poem and slow things down. They can also be entirely eliminated to speed things way up. Small words are often overlooked, but they are working hard to make your poem sing. Give these babies some attention.
These small words are often linked to the timeline of the poem, placing the action in either the past, present, or future and therefore doing a lot of the grounding work so your reader can be in the world of the poem. They also give the juicer language a place to build from. So check your “this,” “that,” “and,” “but,” because “they,” “um,” “do,” “the,” poem justice.
4. “A rose by any other name”
…may smell as sweet—but what to title the dang poem?
A question I know I’ve encountered time and again. As such, I have some tactics I recommend.
If the poem is in a form like a haibun, I may try naming the poem “Haibun for______” which I have seen poets such as Patricia Smith implement. Sometimes I will go the Emily Dickinson route, which is to leave the poem untitled. This tactic makes the first line of the poem do the work of the title. You can also just make the first line the title.
The title helps to orient the reader to the poem, so sometimes I use the title to provide information, such as where or when the poem occurs, or whose voice it’s in. Other times I look to the body of the poem to see if there is an especially sweet line or important word that I can borrow for the title as well.
If none of this is working for you, I suggest “phoning a friend,” that is, ask someone in your writing community for suggestions, and see if anything clicks.
5. Read your work aloud
I cannot say how many poem drafts my cats have indulged me in as my audience, just that I am eternally grateful.
For me, poems exist first as an internal sound, something I can hear. Poetry is also an ancient oral artform that then adhered to the page. Reading to an audience remains at the core of the poetry community. When we voice the poem aloud we weave the poem through our breath and our bodies. This can help us determine where the pauses are in a poem and where our wording maybe clunky or awkward.
If reading aloud is not an accessible option for you, no worries—the poem is adapting in new and amazing ways because it remains important to the human experience. Whatever method you use to communicate from person to person, try implementing that into your poem. For example if you communicate with ASL you could include a visual image of a hand signal, or a video could be recorded where the whole poem is performed.
“When we voice the poem aloud we weave the poem through our breath and our bodies.”
Final thoughts
It’s okay to take the time to be a poet.
I hope these tactics help ease any anxiety stemming from the idea of editing. I’ve heard many poets suggest writing every day, but what I’ve found works for me is setting aside the time to revise. And revise. And revise.
My ritual is making myself a favorite beverage and a snack, throwing on a playlist, and pulling up a handful of poems to work on. This way there’s not too much pressure to get any one poem to a final version, instead I’ll switch from one piece to another as my ideas occur. I go through the above tactics with each until each poem-world becomes complete.
Some poems may need little revision, while others go through more than a dozen drafts until I feel like the poem is ready. Though finished poems can feel magical, they’re made through the simple practice of write and revise. And bubble baths, half-dunked soapy drafts, a lit candle, a glass of something classy, or—you get the picture—no murder necessary.
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This article was posted on March 21, 2023. Written by:
