The Pros and Cons of Rewriting

Seeing as I am in the middle of some rewrites, I thought it would be fitting to do a blog post about it.

Where to start...

I don't even remember where I got the idea for rewriting. It might have been something I just started doing.

Way back when I was writing my very first book, I thought authors just wrote one draft, edited, then called it a day.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha—naive me.

Now I know that is by no means the case.

However when I first started writing, being the perfectionist I am, I would write a chapter and then immediately read it through and edit it. Again. And again. And again. I wanted it perfect. And if I got an idea for something I wanted to do earlier in the book, instead of writing it down and returning to it later—I fixed it then, which usually resulted in an entire manuscript rewrite.

For that first book, I think I have at least five drafts written—all unfinished. Why? Because I went back and wrote a new draft every time I thought of a better way to arrange my story.

Was my book getting better? Yup.

Was it effective? Not at all.

Why? Because I was getting no where. That is why my favorite writing quote to this day is:

"the first draft is just you telling yourself the story."

This quote reminds me that I am going to make mistakes. That the first draft is not going to be pretty. It is basically one long brainstorming session. The fixes will come later, but to start—you just have to get the story out.

After that whole five-draft-debacle, I tried very, very hard not to rewrite anything because I did not want a repeat of my first book. Years later, while writing my current WIP, Curses of Lavender, I learned that there is a time and a place for rewriting.

A time to rewrite. And a time not to.

During the first draft—DO NOT REWRITE. Don't you do it. Don't even fix a sentence if you can help it (which I know is hard, and I probably break this rule a lot).

Once you finish the first draft and do a simmering period, read through, and revision—then, feel free to rewrite away.

You may be wondering: Why? What's the difference?

The difference between your first draft and the draft following your first round of notes (let's call it the second draft) is that during the first draft, you are still figuring things out. Even if you are a plotter, your story is a stranger. You won't know your story on the level needed to provide good edits until the end of the first draft. Scratch that—you won't even know your story well enough until you've read back through it, when all that you wrote of this new world has been reintroduced to you. At that point, you are familiar enough with your story to note the changes needed. You can start making changes because you know the story well enough to understand what it needs to grow.

It's like gardening. You won't just dump a boat load of water on a cactus every day. But perhaps another flower may need that sort of treatment—or perhaps somewhere in the middle. You have to understand your story to take care of it.

Now that we know when to and when not to rewrite, let's discuss how you know if rewriting is right for you.

When revising any draft (just not the first!) you can go about it in three ways.

One) edit what you already have

Two) rewrite the book and incorporate the edits into your story

Three) a mix; edit the good scenes, rewrite the bad

Everyone's writing process is different. Some people may hate rewriting and enjoy editing their first draft. Some may do both. Some may only rewrite sparingly, when a scene or chapter simply doesn't work. Some could do something completely different. There is no right or wrong way. Only whatever way works for you.

For me and my writing style, I have come to understand that rewriting is how I make my book better. Why? Because I flow write.

My first draft is basically one big rant. I fly by the seat of my pants and see where my words take me. (I am doing this right now, actually.) I sit down and I write. There are no thoughts in my head. Any that come go right to my fingertips and appear on the page (or screen, I guess). Because of this, I am a fairly fast writer and can on average write 1,000 words an hour.

If that isn't you—don't feel bad! I know some people who have very clean drafts because they take their time with each word. Or perhaps thoughts and words don't come as easily to them. That is O K A Y. Like I said: everyone's writing process is different.

If you are a methodical writer, you may not need to rewrite much. You may have the tone, character voice, and overall story and world down fairly good and just need to tweak it up a bit to make it seamlessly coherent.

Because I write by flowing, my original thoughts are usually disoriented and jumbled, and my ideas are not flushed out.

After the first draft, I can take a step back and get good idea of what I want my book to be. If I try to incorporate those ideas into my existing book, I will find that they just don't fit because the story, my characters, the voice, and me as the writer aren't the same as when I started. I've gotten to know the characters, the world, the book's writing style, etc. By staring anew, I give myself room to grow.

Of course, there comes a time when I stop rewriting (unless the scene/chapter needs to go or be completely changed) because if not then I am not getting anywhere. However for the second and sometimes third draft I end up starting from scratch. I do use my original draft for reference, and if I love quotes or scenes I will put them in there, however I try to stray away otherwise because if not then I'm not removing myself enough to grow.

Regardless of your preferences, I believe that every writer has to rewrite something at some point, because sometimes things just don't fit properly. However, whether or not using rewriting as a drafting method works for you completely depends on you.

Maybe you don't write fast enough to start from scratch. Maybe you don't have the patience or time. Maybe you like the majority of your book as is. All of that is perfectly acceptable. Do whatever works best for you.

If you aren't sure, try it. That's the best advice I can give you when it comes to whether or not writing methods are successful or not. Try it out and see if it works for you.

If you are on deadline, then trying something new may not be the best idea. But if you aren't on deadline or are working on a side project—why not? Worst comes to worst, go back to your original manuscript and go from there. No harm done. (On that note N E V E R delete anything you write. It may come in handy later, or at least make for some good bonus content.)

I hope this helps you determine when it may be a good idea to rewrite, as well as if rewriting is beneficial for you.

As always, let me know if you have any questions! Feel free to leave them in the comments below :)