The first draft of my second novel is finished. Now
begins the search for perfection, that unattainable point where the rewriting
stops.
So, where is that, exactly?
For the most part, rewriting comes before proofing,
and concerns punctuation and spelling and word choice, and in the later stages,
formatting, consistency, and continuity. The obvious stuff. Then there’s the part
of the writing process that drives me batty; when my mind makes changes to something
I have already written and moved past. This usually occurs in the early morning
hours, during that space of time between being asleep and being awake, and come
from that dusty corner of the mind where the remnants of dreams live. They are wisps
of thought, misty images of scenes, and they commingle with my consciousness as
I wake. They are suggestions that task me when I open my eyes, and they are as
fleeting as the dreams they come from.
So I write them down.
I read somewhere that writers should never ignore
their dreams. They are pure creation, and they reveal themselves for a reason. As
a writer, dismissing them is foolish. For my money, this applies to rewrites as
well.
I mentioned earlier that my next novel is in
rewrites. I woke the other morning with the thought of my protagonist’s early
intro into the story. She does a job she does not care for. She doesn’t hate it
because she understands the necessity for it, and likens it to the average
American worker who is good at a job that they don’t enjoy. My early morning epiphany
suggested I needed to drive that point home a bit more early on, in order to enrich
the character, and give the changes she goes through more impact.
To emphasize the point, I’ll share with you an
anecdote a friend shared with me. He said Jeffery Deaver (The Bone Collector, The October List) once told him that he would edit
his novels right up to the time they went to print if he could.
All things considered, I suppose that’s where the rewriting stops … for
that edition.
Best Regards,
DB
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D.B., nice post. I imagine that the rewrite doesn't stop until the last moment before publication. We all keep the story active in our minds, not only through creation and writing, but after the fact we think the task is completed. It's true that there is a time to stop and let that baby go. A nagging perfectionism can get in the way just as a bad procrastination muse can halt the creative train.
ReplyDeleteGood luck making that baby shine. It shows you care about your reading public.
Agreed Chris, and thanks for dropping by.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing when reading comments, I tend to re-read the post. I don't know why. This time I found that I used the word "emphasis," when I wanted to use the word "emphasize."
I fixed it of course.
The rewriting continues.
;-)