For new writers, one of the most surprising elements of the craft is how much editing and revision it takes to produce good work.

Until you get into writing as a serious hobby or a career, it may seem like writing should just come out clean and ready to publish. But experienced writers know this is not the case at all.

Effective writing doesn’t happen by accident. First you create a rough draft, then a solid first draft, then a second, third, and final draft. These drafts can vary depending on the project, of course.

As writers, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to revise and change our writing. But we rarely reflect on how our writing changes us.

John Irving said, “Half my life is an act of revision.” He was talking about the actual act of revision, but there’s a deeper truth here. The time we spend in editing doesn’t just revise our writing. It also revises us.

As we grow and develop in our craft, we change. We grow. We become a new and hopefully better version of ourselves.

This is scary and a little intimidating. But it’s important to stay open to change. If we don’t change, neither does our writing. Like a bottle of fine wine, we should become better and more nuanced as we get older. Make it your goal, day by day, to become a better version of yourself.