Monday, July 1, 2013

That Dreaded Rewrite

When it came time to sitting down and beginning my rewrite on Woven, I was very apprehensive. There's so much work in drafting a novel. To do that work twice over seems that much more daunting.

Honestly, it's been easier than I anticipated. There are a lot of pros (and maybe some cons) to rewriting the novel from word one.

Pros:
~ After drafting and revising several times, I know the story and characters much better and thus the rewrite is stronger.
~ Rewriting from word one eliminates a lot of baggage, like being overly attached to adverbs and certain sentences.
~ Knowing the story and characters so well actually makes the writing go faster.
~ Voice is stronger on the rewrite because I know the characters so well. I already have a feel of who they are and how they'd talk.
~ Any revisions to character or voice that need to be made are easier to make in a logical way and without seams than in revising.

Cons:
~ Revisions to character are harder to make because I know the characters so well.
~ Remembering that perfect turn of phrase or little world-building detail and wanting to just copy-paste it wholesale into the manuscript but can't.
~ Knowing the characters and story so well you suddenly can't remember if you wrote that crucial scene in the rewrite or are just remembering it written in the old drafts.
~ Paranoia that the voice is weaker than before.

Are rewrites easier for you or harder?

1 comment:

  1. Rewrites are HARD. Full, completely, do-over rewrites is awful ... but, I think every time I do it I learn a lot about my writing process. I have to admit, I need to rewrite my selkie book to make it work, and I've been too afraid to do it. I keep trying to get it to work with what's there, and it doesn't. It will need a complete rewrite from page one, but I just don't love it enough to do that. So in a drawer it sits. I feel for you. But if you do get through this, you'll feel amazing. :)

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