Finish and move on.

I saw an article this week that explained how with the new e-book technology an author could conceivably never finish working on his/her book. With the ability to easily make countless revisions to one work should you? To answer that I think you only have to look at the iconic films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and the huge public backlash that the directors received when they chose to alter their original works.

Can you imagine if the opening lines to Moby Dick or A Christmas Carol were lost to the delete button because the author had a change of heart or received a suggestion from a critic that they liked. Or if Leonardo decided that the Mona Lisa would look better with a more dramatic smile. Now I know these are extreme examples but I believe that all works of art, be that film, books, paintings, or even theater, are the encapsulation of a period of time in which they are created. Only the artist knows what influenced them during the creation of any particular work but I believe that those influences come through to the audience in the end and that is why some works resonate with some people more than others.

I don't think that I know an artist out there who would not like to change something about the work that they have done but if they continue to change and alter their work after they have put it out there for the public to see it will begin to become muddied. In strengthening one section, another could become weaker and so on and so forth. I also don't think it is fair to the public to change something once you have given it to them. Because once an artist unveils, releases, or debuts anything it is a gift to the world. Whether the world chooses to see that way or not that is what it is, a gift.

If we as artist are able to say, "Finished!" about one of our works and feel that it is time to place it into the public consciousness, then it is also time to move on to the next project. Take the feed back, criticism, and praise, apply that to your future projects and learn from it. Never stop learning or growing as an artist, but how can you do that if you are always looking back? So I say it does not matter if the technology exists or not. Finish your work. Put it out there. Learn from it. Then move on.