Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

The Joys of Rewrites

It’s been a long arduous journey—weeks, months, maybe even years in the making—but you’ve done it. You’ve finally finished your book. And whether it’s your first or your twenty-first, you know what has to be done next…

Rewrites.

Everyone does it differently. I’ve even noticed some writers who don’t do it at all—they just go through the manuscript as they write, rewriting and editing as they go along. I can’t do that. I have to stick to the story, write out whatever comes to mind. I don’t go back through the manuscript until I have written the words “The End” on the final page.

Then the fun begins.

I love doing rewrites! I print out the story—which can often been a considerable amount of pages even after resetting margins, spacing, and font size to condense it down—then, I begin to read and edit, my red pen in hand.

It’s scary with all the red crossed out lines and proofing marks when I finally go back through it to transfer the new changes onto the computer copy. But the end result is worth it.

Going back through the manuscript and rewriting gives me the opportunity to flesh out my story, cut out the parts that might be boring or just don’t seem to fit and the inconsistencies—oh don’t get me started on the inconsistencies.

If it weren’t for rewrites, I’d hate to think how messed up the story may be.

I am currently in the middle of rewrites of a work in progress and I’ve barely scratched the surface. Hopefully, after the holidays, I can finish it up, get the synopsis typed out and have it all ready for submission.

What about all you writers out there—how do you feel about rewrites?

Much Love Always,
Rose Marie Wolf
www.rosemariewolf.com