That's pretty much exactly what I do. I used to need about half a dozen full rewrites on every scene / section; I think I still do for long pieces.
Rudyard Kipling advocated a variant of the same method, iirc; he suggested letting a short story sit for six months or a year, then deleting everything unnecessary with india ink, then letting it sit another six months to a year and doing it again. I don't know how often he actually did that, but it certainly would help in developing a spare style.
I do sometimes use a beta - mostly when I can see that the story still needs major changes but I can't quite tell what changes to make. lolmac is the best beta in the world for that, and I'm lucky to work with her. :D
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-10 01:41 pm (UTC)Rudyard Kipling advocated a variant of the same method, iirc; he suggested letting a short story sit for six months or a year, then deleting everything unnecessary with india ink, then letting it sit another six months to a year and doing it again. I don't know how often he actually did that, but it certainly would help in developing a spare style.
I do sometimes use a beta - mostly when I can see that the story still needs major changes but I can't quite tell what changes to make.