I saw this Robert Cormier quote over at Kim’s Write Shop blog and knew that I had to share it with the middle schoolers who come to our peer editing session. What a great reminder that our writing is flexible. It can and should change as we revise, edit, and proofread. There is no shame in making mistakes and having a very rough rough draft — as long as you keep working on it.
Now if we can only convince our teen writers that they are not brain surgeons!
It is a mentally challenging task to revise your own work, even after getting feedback from others. And it takes a lot of time, as Kim points out. But it is also highly rewarding to invest time into a piece that ends up being something you are truly proud of.
Besides the pretty graphic above, I made the quote into a printable, black and white mini-poster that you can use to inspire your young writer or yourself!
Download the B&W mini-poster here: Writing Quotation Mini Poster (138)
I hope that these words from a published author will encourage the tweens and teens I work with to be confident writers at all stages in the process.
[Robert Cormier is the author of The Chocolate War and other young adult novels.]
Hi and welcome! I'm Jimmie and this is my online collage of our Charlotte Mason homeschool. Taking just a little more time to document our learning shortens the learning curve for other busy homeschool moms.
Feel free to browse around my posts and freebies. My aim is to bless each reader with something useful. 
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Twitter: writeshop
February 9, 2012 at 12:59 am
Don’t you just love to find that perfect, inspirational quote that encourages, motivates, or just plain frees you?
Kim recently posted Editing tools for young writers.
I really like that and might need to print it out. laminate it and put it up on my school room wall.
I plan to share with my daughter who likes to write, but does not like to edit.
Karen recently posted Homeschool Dads.
Love it! It’s good for all of us (not just the middle schoolers!).
Ami recently posted Encouragement for March.
Encouraging to our teens…and just as encouraging to me!
Thanks for posting.
What a great idea! I’m sure it will be encouraging even for my younger kids that procrastinate writing because they just want it right. They get it from their mother
I just found your website today!! And I’m so glad I did! We love using the Charlotte Mason philosophy and this is just the page to encourage me to use it well. ThankYou so much! =D
Twitter: homeschoolgrls
February 13, 2012 at 9:41 am
Love it! It is perfect for my 12 year old who loves to write but doesn’t see the point in editing and rewriting….
Karen recently posted Dissection, Glasses and Year of the Dragon…..
For aspiring writers, there can be no better mentor than Robert Cormier. His books are masterpieces of concise, emotionally honest writing. I highly recommend his novels I Am the Cheese, After the First Death, Tenderness, and The Chocolate War.
Patty Campbell, author of Robert Cormier: Daring to Disturb the Universe