It hasn't snowed for almost a month, but today it's snowing. Or trying to....
I haven't updated lately because I've been eaten a live by a rewrite. It's finally spit me back out and I hit a huge wall. So, I'll update this blog.
I love rewrites. For a wide array of reasons.
1. You all ready have the bones to the story laid out in a nice fashion. When you're re-writing something, all you need to do is rearrange things, rework, or expand on what you have all ready labored over.
2. You get to revisit your characters. The thing I just finished rewriting I've had living in my head since I was fifteen. I didn't start writing it in a story form till I was sixteen. But, I remember naming all the characters on summer day on the couch. They then all went into a play that was never performed. But, through writing this play (based on real events, with real people re-named), I fell in love with who the characters had become in my head. So, one day at lunch, I got out a piece of paper and went to work. And RAB was born. I did my first overhaul on RAB when I was twenty one. I tried many things when I set about rewriting it. I tried to tell it in present tense, tried telling it in third person, but I went back to first person, past tense. It stayed that way till this last rewrite. I re-read it and thought, "OMG, this is boring." So, I reworked it, rewrote it and took it back to what it was when I was sixteen. G finally was able to be who I knew she was and I think it showed better in her story.
3. New plot points scare you to death. I know you might not believe me, but every time I rewrite something, something new pops out at me, usually freaking me out or scaring me to death. I think, "SERIOUSLY! Why didn't I see this before!" And I get super excited and everything comes together in my head and it is brilliant. The first time I did a major overhaul of RAB, a story arch appeared to me and I was able to hone it. Granted, it was with a character who wasn't a main character, he has a supporting role, but I realized as I went through I was able to litter hints and clues to who this guy really was. I love doing this. It happened again when I sat down to do this rewrite. Because I knew something now that I didn't know the last time I looked at the story, I was able to litter in clues, then out of nowhere, a whole scene appeared. It shocked me, but it had to be written and put in there.
I love rewriting. I itch to rewrite things sometimes. Sometimes, I look at something and think, "WOW! This is bloody brilliant!" And other times, I look at it and think, "What was I thinking?"
Summer Story has this happen to it. I've lost track of the times I read it and thought, "This is brilliant!" Then, the last time I read through it I thought, "I want to rewrite this. It's got potential."
10p was that way for over a year. I kept rewriting it till I finally got to the point it's at right now. The last time I read it, while I found minor errors, I still liked it. It was still a good story and I thought it was still tightly told. Summer Story is in some need of some serious editing, yet I know I can't figure out what to cut. When I re-wrote 10p the last time, I know it's too long to be YA, but I'm not sure what I can cut. It's amazing when I realize what I can cut. RAB's stories (there are four in all) were all too short to be full length novels. I know, shocking on many levels as I am very, very, very long winded. After this last rewrite, only one is boarding on too short. And that one has always had this problem. Mostly because I hate the character telling the story. (Which makes it kind of fun to write and not at the same time.)
But, I've finished writing RAB. It's in stage two editing, ready for BETA reading.
