thanks to worldteamjourney

An interesting question for writers which continually rears its annoying head. I had the latest conversation on the topic last week after the performance of Dreams of May and it got me thinking. It’s clear to me that the answer for theatrical works is NEVER. Whenever a play is performed after it’s first outing, there is usually a new cast, a new director, new lighting and perhaps, sound. No one wants to feel as if they are mindlessly plugging themselves into an old production, and that was certainly true with my own production last week. Although I had written the piece and went into the rehearsal room with the original soundscape on a cd, the similarity between the performances ended after the first few minutes of rehearsing. First off, the actress had prepared using the original version, and when she started to read through the piece from that, I gasped. “Has it changed all that much?” she asked. And I realised, it had. The poems were in the same order and the basic set had remained, but some of the poems themselves had been edited and tightened up. Some of the stage directions had been revised and others we chose to ignore all together as we worked through the piece. There were also some additional sounds added which really enhanced the atmosphere, I thought. So, is Dreams of May finished? No. But, I think, that’s good news.

It also reminded me of a time when my publisher had asked if I wanted to consider reissuing my first novel, Tangled Roots. At first I thought it just meant putting a new cover on it and an updated acknowledgment page. But when she gently suggested I should review it before I made a decision, I went back to reread it and realised that already within the first few pages there were scores of small edits I would want to make. And there were enough of them that I put the whole idea off to the side so as to get back to writing the newer book I was then embarked on.

I used to think that when a book was on a shelf it was done. But now I think that neither a book nor a poem nor a play is ever really done. These works have their own lives, and they evolve as the writer evolves. It’s enough to make me never want to look back at my older works again, ever.It doesn’t mean the earlier works are bad. It just means they are earlier. My writing and I have moved on, but I think that is ultimately the best news of all. What do you think?