Take Time to Revise

My first job as a programming executive was with Cinemax. My boss, Luke Beermann, trained me on the process. Each schedule took one month to create, because we built time into the schedule for review and revisions. I asked Luke why we couldn't get the schedule completed in two weeks. He told me, "You never get it right the first time. Even when you're sure you wrote it perfectly, you will always find a mistake when you look at it afterwards. That doesn't mean you're not good; it just means you're human. The company depends on our schedule, so we take time to make sure it's as good as possible when it leaves our office." In these days of instant posting on the internet, Facebook, and twitter, these words ring truer than ever. Make sure that you take time during your creative process to revise and edit. It probably won't be perfect the first time. That's why movies shoot for six weeks, but edit for six months. Similar examples abound throughout the arts. Picasso took months to paint The Guernica, and throughout the process changed the way the individual figures looked, and where their eyes focused. If Picasso had to edit his work, why should you expect anything different? Great art -- great content of any kind -- isn't a news story; you don't make it better by being the first to air. Make sure you plan for revision time in your project. The best creators are the best editors. Remember, anything worth writing is worth re-writing.