When I was about to turn 50, I went into a kind of personal revision and observed my own priorities and what led those priorities in my life. And many things that, in a way, were profound.
I've learned to really love revision over the years and worked hard to build up my craft muscle to make my revisions less and less painful with each book.
I probably have less revision than those who have that wonderful rush of story to tell - you know, I can't wait to tell you what happened the other day. It comes tumbling out and maybe then they go back and refine. I kind of envy that way of working, but I just have never done it.
Finding pleasure in revision is the thing I would most strongly advise to people. It's not something I did as a younger writer; I learned it over time.
I want the Eurobond, a 20 per cent devalued euro for southern European countries, protecting our products against those arriving from abroad, and a revision of the 3 per cent deficit budgetary rule.
Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.
I'm perfectly proud of the work I did, looking back at it. I know I've had a bit of a revision since my 'Big Finish' stories came out.
It's been a while since I checked in with Malcolm Gladwell's 'Revisionist History' podcast. The episode 'The King of Tears' suggests the author is raising the bar. His argument is that country music is the genre that makes us cry because, unlike rock, it's not afraid of specifics.
I'm not sure if a writer should talk about themes. Themes arrive out of the deeper structure and concerns, but to me, the main thing is getting it down right, writing about specific characters in specific predicaments, and finding a way to be true to the story itself, not only in the first burst of draft but in the revision, too.
As a story writer, you have work with sharp but relatively small tools, the picks of metaphor, the shovel blade of images, the trowel of point of view, and then you delicately lift and brush in the revision with love and care knowing that one slip, and you might damage an extremely delicate thing.
