Re-Writes

One of the aspects about writing novels that I love [and hate] is the re-write.

The past two weeks my focus as centered on the final revisions of my historical romance, Searching for Sara. I sent the proof copy to my mom for review before setting out on this adventure of finals. Last week, or was it the week before, she finished her multiple readings and shipped me back the proof with her commentary and suggestions scribbled in the margins.

Having a person willing and able to give your manuscript/work in progress a critical review is essential. Why? Because us authors have a tendency of getting either too attached or too distanced from our characters and the story we have to tell. For me it is most commonly the former. The story is so crystal clear in my head that my mind doesn’t notice when words have been left out. In addition to that, because I know the story backwards and forwards, I don’t know when an important fact has been left out, adding to the reader’s confusion about the conflict or a back-story, etc. With my mother as a ‘beta reader’, I have the opportunity of receiving insight into a different level of awareness.

A clean slate, as it were.

If you are able to have multiple people beta-read your WIP, that is even better! Currently I have another friend beta-reading SfS this weekend. In fact, I shipped her the same marked up proof that I received from my mother (upon my friend’s insistence). She wanted the opportunity to read and comment on the commentary. HAHA! If possibly, I will try to find 1 or 2 more people to beta-read the proof… although at this point in time it might be better to send my corrections through and print another proof.

No sense sending around old news?

And I seem to have ventured a little off tangent. Apologies.

Back to the point at hand: the love [and hate] of rewriting. Setting that first draft to paper could be attributed to piecing together a skeleton on an archaeological dig. Scene by scene you put together the proper characters, motivations, goals, conflicts, and rewards that equate to a momentous adventure in these characters’ lives. They will live and/or die by your hands, and what a life it will be!

Part 2 of your duty as a writer comes to play: the re-write.

Once you, the writer, has fit the pieces together, it is time for you to utilize the facts on hand – as well as your own imagination – to delve deeper into the facets of the characters and the story they want to spin. Hidden agonies. Secret joys. Lost loves. Squelched desires for vengeance. They are all there, in that collection of scenes and pages.

The re-write affords us the opportunity to bring those to the forefront. Rewriting scenes to their full potential can be a definite challenge, especially if we are in a ‘lazy’ frame of mind. If that is the case, I suggest meeting up with a critique partner who will kick you in your hind-quarters. This is something I have needed to do myself on many an occasion.

But if you are ready for the agony of unlocking the waiting intensity, go for the gusto!

Bring out your thesaurus and dig deep for the perfect word that conveys the vision in your mind. Succinct imagery can be more powerful than we give it credit for (and it can bring our word count down to a more manageable level).

Ask yourself if the scene is necessary, and if it isn’t feel free to take it out!

Read the scene aloud so that you are more aware of flow. If your internal editor [while you're reading] leaves out or adds a word, take a moment to discern if it was a necessary change.

If you know your characters and their story inside and out, they will help you get it out on the page. Your great responsibility is due diligence and, when you think it might finally be done, reading it one more time.