Do
it again until you get it right!
If there are
any aspiring authors out there, you may have heard some writers
say that they absolutely hate doing re-writes, polishing up their
manuscripts. Sure, it would be nice to simply hammer away at your
old typewriter like Jessica Fletcher and then stuff the finished
product into an envelope, send it to your editor and then sit back
and wait for your six-figure advance. Yeah, right. It simply doesn't
work that way. But it's not something you need to dread either.
At a writer's
conference a few years back, I attended a lecture by mystery author
Jeremiah Healy. He said that you will re-write your manuscript at
least twenty-five times before it's ready. At the time I thought
he was exaggerating but experience eventually taught me that twenty-five
times was a conservative estimate. It seems I always have to learn
the hard way.
When I was
writing one of my mystery novels I realized that I had reached page
number one hundred and still had not brought two of my best characters
into the story. They were two homicide detectives and were huge
characters; I couldn't leave them waiting in the wings for half
of the book. They needed to be part of the action within the first
couple of chapters. Re-write number one: Since they were homicide
detectives, all I needed was a murder. Seems simple enough but I
couldn't spare anyone in the current cast so I had to create a new
character to become the victim. Adding a new person to the story
can seriously impact the plot and the flow. My little addition resulted
in at least three new chapters and the rework of several others.
It sounds like a lot of extra work but I saw it as a new adventure
and a challenge to blend a completely new person seamlessly into
the story.
I think it
was author Sara Paretsky who said that we should look at re-writing
as an opportunity to change history, and to change it in a way that
only the author can. She gave a very inspiring speech on the task
of re-writing and editing your work. Ever since that day I've looked
at it quite differently. It's a very necessary part of the job of
writing and can be every bit as rewarding as that first profound
thought
©
MyShelf.Com. All Rights Reserved. |