Writers on Revision

What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure. ~ Samuel Johnson

On plenty of days the writer can write three or four pages, and on plenty of other days he concludes he must throw them away. ~ Annie Dillard

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~ Elmore Leonard

I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter. ~ James Michener

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~ Scott Adams

I can't write five words but that I change seven. - Dorothy Parker

A Brief Handbook on Revision for Writers by Tom Jenks in Narrative Magazine -- a good guideline for how to revise. (You'll need to get a free login from Narrative to read on the site.)