Writing is fun and rewriting is work. I used to feel that way, and sometimes I still do. A first draft comes with its own challenges, but there’s a freedom to it (unless you’re a very strict outliner)—you can try different crazy things, bring in new characters when you get bored, leave them in perilous situations you’ll figure out later. When you screw up or stray too far from the path, well, that’s a problem for rewrite guy. But the fixer coming in to clean up your mess is still you.
But rewrite guy can have fun too, and every new draft presents a different set of challenges. With Lowdown Road, I had a scene that went too far into Grand Guignol horror for my editor’s liking, and I think he was right—it stuck out like a sore thumb and threw the book off balance. I had to replace it with a scene that accomplished the same goal (separating our two protagonists, putting one of them in a situation requiring the other to rescue him) in a way that fit in better with the story around it. I replaced my Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque family with a moonshining one, no less murderous but slightly more down-to-earth. (One of these days maybe I’ll post the original version here as a sort of deleted scene.) I ended up having fun revisiting my characters and putting them through the wringer one more time in a very different way.
I’m currently rewriting a new novel that presents its own set of challenges and opportunities. I now have an agent, so for the first time I have comprehensive notes before the book ever gets to an editor. With regard to the notes, I’ve been told to take what works and leave the rest behind, but the main thrust of the assignment is to streamline and simplify. It’s a complicated story, and I want to preserve what I can while stripping some of the more convoluted aspects. It’s overlong by maybe 10-15,000 words, but cutting words is a lot easier than coming up with new ones, right?
It should work that way, but we all have our darlings we’re reluctant to part with. There’s one chapter near the end that I’ve already accepted is destined to be a deleted scene. It has meaning for me, but it’s a big rock in the path of a river that should be flowing unimpeded to its outlet. There may be one or two crucial pieces of information in that chapter, but I’ll have to find another spot to reveal them.
A couple of characters will be cut altogether and a few others will get greatly reduced page time because they’re, well, secondary characters. They should exist only in relation to the main characters, so the bits where they’re out on their own have to go. Those may be moments that provide more insight into who they are, but the challenge will be to get that information across without deviating too far from the main path.
It sounds daunting, but I’m finding myself energized. The new ideas are popping. I really love this novel and and its world, so spending more time in it doesn’t feel like a chore. I want it to be as successful as possible while retaining what makes it special to me, so that’s the tightrope I’ll be walking for the next few weeks.
I’ll recommend a book that I’m reading for the first time now and finding very helpful to the process: Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell. I have a hard time with a lot of craft and how-to books on writing, but I’m finding this one has plenty of helpful tools, suggestions, and thought experiments. And now I should wrap this up and get back to that draft, but first:
News and Notes
Well, I didn’t win the Edgar Award, but the ceremony in New York was a lot of fun nonetheless. And I’m forever an Edgar Finalist now. I have two more shots at the brass ring: Lowdown Road has been nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original. It feels weird to campaign for it since I’m up against some friends, but winning would sure mean a lot to me. If you’re attending Bouchercon in Nashville at the end of August, I’m asking for your vote! Lowdown Road is also nominated for a Barry Award in the same category. Everyone reading this can vote by July 15! See details at Deadly Pleasures magazine.
I actually enjoy rewriting... it isn't a real rewrite as I constantly tinker with the draft as I go. Can't tell you how many changes some parts of a manuscript have gone through. I don't keep v1 v2 v3 either, I just worry the same document to death. Real editing happens when I let a finished draft sit for 2 months, then jump back in. It's like discovering it anew and that is fun. Maybe I'm a a masochist.... Heading over to Deadly Pleasures now.
Voted!