Thoughts for Thursday--Editing

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.  In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!

This week's theme is quotes about editing! I've been doing A LOT of this lately and, while it's always exciting and deeply satisfying to see the final version of your manuscript come together, it can also be tedious and, I must say, definitely NOT my favorite part of the process. Still, I had it on the brain, so...

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads."--Dr. Seuss

"Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings."--Stephen King, On Writing

"While writing is like a joyful release, editing is a prison where the bars are my former intentions and the abusive warden my own neuroticism."--Tiffany Madis

"Writing without revising is the literary equivalent of waltzing gaily out of the house in your underwear."--Patricia Fuller

"Edit your manuscript until your fingers bleed and you have memorized every last word. Then, when you are certain you are on the verge of insanity...edit one more time."--C.K. Webb

Which is your favorite quote on editing? Do you have one to add?

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