Rewrite?

by Patricia Cates

Have you ever written something you thought was absolutely brilliant, and then gone back and revisited it later and said, "What was I thinking?"

Man, oh, man. I sure have!

While continuing my organization of things I stumbled across a poem I wrote in 2011. At the time I was in full flow mode and writing with abandon. I wrote a poem for my husband-to-be, and felt it "to be" the absolute most romantic thing ever scribed. I even framed a copy for him and displayed it at our reception. So, when I found it recently I was uber excited. I couldn't wait to re-read the words on those two pages. My finest work for sure. Except...it's utterly awful! Super bad. What was I thinking? It may have been the first and only draft, but honestly it sounds like a 12 year old wrote it. My tenses are off in parts and it really needs revision. I am so embarrassed. I am thinking I will rewrite it. If not for him, for me!

Who else has done this?

I think that's why some great writing coaches have told us to "let it rest." But does a rest mean four hours, four days, four months or four years? It's difficult to gauge. It might depend on how unbiased we can be towards our own work. Can we be unbiased after a few hours? Certainly after four years. Confession---I often publish on this very blog a complete first draft, because I am in a hurry. The great thing about that is that we can always update! On paper...not so much.

So my challenge today is to say "YES" to the rewrite. Find something old and pull it out and see if it needs a little polishing...or a lot. Could something so-so become great? I think so. If it's something your heart is attracted to, then maybe that will spark some much needed interest and passion. Perhaps some new ideas will even begin to flow along with it as well. You never know until you try.

Saturday So What: Marinate

     I love  to watch the Food channel.  Ironic, I know. I can't cook and I have a weight loss book coming out. Go figure.
     Anyway, I was watching Chopped, and they kicked a chef off the show because her pork didn't have enough flavor. She didn't let it marinate long enough, and so the meat was bland.
     Recently, I got some feedback from a beta reader/ editor type person. My story didn't have enough flavor. I needed another ingredient. He suggested that I move a character that was introduced in the second half of the book, all the way up to the second chapter. = Major rewrites.
     I kicked, I screamed. I may have cried and cursed a little. I hated the idea. It was horrible and I rejected it out of hand. Then I went to sleep. And the idea marinated in my brain with the story. The next day it begrudgingly marinated a little more. By the third day I had rewritten the first three chapters to reflect the change.
     My friend was right. The extra character got me out of the 1st person POV trap (post coming next week). I needed that character to draw my heroine out and advance the story. She added just the right amount of bite and flavor. Sometimes ideas need that time to marinate. To really sink into your brain.
     My advice, when you get a critique from a friend, or a reader, or your group -- don't dismiss it out of hand. I know, the instinct is defense mode and protecting the integrity of your vision. Just hear it, and let it stew for a while. Let it marinate and then decide if it adds the right amount of flavor to your story.