What to leave in, what to leave out...
Some parts of my novel are staying the same from the previous draft, but a lot is changing. Therefore, I have decided to do a complete rewrite and only copy over the scenes that work in this final revision. What's nice is having a blank slate to work with. What isn't nice is saying goodbye to the 73,000+ words I already wrote. Plus the over 100,000 words in the first two drafts (combined).
I suppose I resisted a complete rewrite because I was already on my third draft. And I asked myself, before starting a fourth draft, why I thought rewriting would be any easier than revising what I had. I couldn't come up with an answer, so I did what all writers do: I just started writing.
With any luck, I'm learning from this process and when I get back to the other two novels I've written, I'll be able to rewrite those with confidence, right?
Word count of Falling Short, take 4:
4795
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3 comments:
You could view your releasing the 73,000+ words as a detoxification process. Let go of those words and let the new, fresher, better words in.
LOL when I think of all those novels I've written or started with my favorite characters...only to do another now. But it takes a lot to find the real story behind these people. Sometimes, you just have to work through it to find the good stuff.
Sounds like the smart way to handle it, to me.
I started the second book of a series before I'd completely finished the first one (because of NaNo, btw) thinking I knew where the first was going and how it would end...
Well, I didn't. So now, book two needs a major rewrite to fall in line with book one. So far I haven't had the heart to make an attempt.
You, however, are a step in that direction.
cjh
Over 4000 words so far and with your uber busy schedule with schooling the kids and the house remodel, et cetera - that's awesome - you are rocking.
So I decided instead of concentrating on a murder mystery for the contest I am going to do something with my 50 states stories and some ideas are trickling in - so who knows - that may get done by the end of this year - we'll see.
Yes sometimes a rewrite works out better for us than a revision does - let me know if you are up for a word war sometime when you get a chance - E :)
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