Students in my writing workshops seem to fit into two camps around the subject of editing. Some feel that it's "giving up" their own voice, ideas, and creativity to allow an editor to have input on their work, while others see the editing process as a continuation of the writing--another chance to sharpen their language or polish their vision.

After writing a first draft, I have felt it was wonderful to be freed of the labor, though exciting and interesting labor, of figuring out what to put on the page.

During the editing phase, it was easier to stand back and get a vision of the work as a whole, to imagine how I could make it fit better with my vision.After that first flush of creative flow, we can take out thesaurus to see how to shape and find nuances of words. We all need to learn to be our own editors, and when we hire them, we need to find a way to have them understand our point of view and voice so the editing flows with our own style.

 How do you feel about the editing process--does it enhance your work or do you feel it takes away from your voice?