Have you ever written a scene, then had an idea later that improved it? Some little detail that made it come to life? These are what refine your work from good to great. Thank heaven computers make revisions a breeze.

I do this all the time. I’m one of those people who’s apparently a slow thinker because I always think of the clever thing to say a day or two after the opportunity presents itself. Yeah, I know, Duh! But I’m not quick and witty spontaneously. So it’s not surprising when I’ll get some of my best ideas after I’ve written a scene, whether it is mostly descriptive or dialog. Much of this also relates to really knowing and understanding your characters and what they might say.

This is where you need to keep a writer’s notebook handy, because you never know when one of these clever mini-revisions will come to mind. I’ve lost several when I didn’t have the opportunity to write it down at the time, then it had entirely evaporated by the time I was back at the computer.