The Joys of Manuscript Revision, or, All Good Writing was Written More Than Once

I swore I would never be that 'type' of writer. And I say that like there are 'types' of writers, which really their aren't - everyone is an individual.

But when I read that a favorite author of mine writes with a process along the lines of, Write it once, keep half of it, write it again, keep 2/3 of it, write it again, keep 3/4 of it, I laughed.

That's waaaaay too inefficient, said Gwen. I'll just write my books once, and do it right the first time. I'll use an outline, and be way more organized....

*cough*

Yeah. Maybe there is something to being a professional at what you do, after all.

I wrote my book once. I even had an outline. And it took me 45K words more than I thought I needed to tell the story. Now I need dig for the gold, and re-write the rest.

But it should be an adventure . . . . And result in a much better finished product. So, I've called in some help - bought some books, and I'll be using those as I sort of experiment with this whole 'rewrite' thing, to see how it works for me.

Because all of us writers are individuals -- even if some laws are universal, like this one:

All good writing was written more than once.

Consider this post a warning for the forthcoming whining.