I have write countless essays and stories throughout my life and they have help to shape me into a methodical writer. While i don’t believe that every writer has the same approach to writing and rewriting, in my own case, my particular style is closer to the “the builder” who make overdecorated and clustered unfinished houses. For me who rely on flashes of inspirations when writing, i put everything even remotely relevant or interesting that could contribute to my essay and then take some out and reshape them when rewriting. As Beth Shope described:”consider what you have just written as something to be played with, a lump of clay to be molded into a pleasing shape. View every word with suspicion–it looks right, but is it? Rearrange sentences and paragraphs to try out different effects. Give yourself permission to experiment, to make mistakes, to scratch out, to start over, to write yourself into a corner and then backtrack to paint in a door.” I have a similar view of my draft but use a more focused approach. Whenever I come up interesting paragraphs and ideas in my draft, i would choose to rewrite a couple of time for those particular pieces. The final result is a passable essay with some paragraphs that stand out. If there is anything that I can learn and use afterward from this reading, it is this advice from Beth Shope: “So revise whenever you like–and take your time about it. Novel-writing is not something that should be hurried. I once heard a prolific author (who publishes several novels a year) tell a workshop full of novice writers the only way to write well is to write very fast and never stop to look back, getting it all down in one sustained effort, somewhat like laying asphalt. The idea behind that, I believe, is to short-circuit the internal editor so you can write more creatively. That’s fine, if it works for you and if you’re then willing to make revisions with more finesse. For myself, if I write fast, I get pond scum, and I’m not willing to revise an entire novel’s worth of pond scum. Easier for me to do it as I go, immersing myself in the words, stretching, prodding, and rearranging them. Good novels are carefully shaped, like clay on a potter’s wheel. Unlike laying asphalt, this is time-consuming, but it gets far more artistic results.” I have tendency to be impatient and used to believe that when i can come up at the moment when i begin writing is the best that can come up with because the ideas and inspiration would still be fresh. However, in the future, i will try a different approach and contemplate on the topic a bit longer before putting down my draft, take the time to shape and reshape my writing and giving a more careful reading. Shope, B. (2002). True writing is rewriting. In G. Lazette, (Ed.) Vision: A Resource for Writers. Retrieved from Vision@sff.net