Hatrack River Writers Workshop: What do you mean, re-write?

This is topic What do you mean, re-write? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by epiquette (Member # 1272) on :

I have a question for all you folks.

There appears to be a near concensus here that re-writing is at least as important, and likely even more important, than writing the first draft of a work. It is widely held that the very best stories often come from the best 're-writers' and not necessarily from the best first-draft writers.

So, re-writing is very, very important...yes.

But what do you mean when you say re-write? Do you put your first draft out of sight and retype every word from the beginning, retelling the whole now that the entire vision is basically complete, and in light of it?

Do you mean leaving certain scenes largely the same, changing/scrapping others, inserting others, and fixing the grammar and quirks?
Or is it more of a super-copy-edit?

I'm sure all of these things at some point need to be done depending on the state of any particular draft.

Personally, limited experience as I have, I think I would find it difficult with my latest novel draft to make substantive changes unless those changes really resonated -- meaning they would have to seem more 'alive' than the already substantial 'life' that my story has. (I think it is kind of neat that my story seems to have this quality; I guess that is something good.) Anyway, it is likely that the book could be improved with a couple specific and well thought out major changes, but to do so would feel like killing something real, and would be heart wrenching. I recall Kathleen making comments about this before.

Anyway, what do you think. What does re-write mean to you?

Thanks,
Erk

Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :

Re-writing means all of those things. To me it's an on-going process. I'm always reading and re-reading and making corrections. The keyword is "merciless" and it often hurts.

Objectivity about our own writing is almost impossible. I don't know how long you've been writing, but heavy-handing it with the edit pencil does get a bit easier over time.

[This message has been edited by Kolona (edited July 17, 2002).]

Posted by DragynGide (Member # 1448) on :

To me, rewriting is kind of like pruning a rosebush that somebody let grow wild for a couple of years. The rosebush is big, vibrant, and full of life, but it has problems. First off, it has no real visible shape; it's just this hulking, formless mass of thorns and leaves and roses. Shoots cross and interfere with eachother everywhere, and there are hidden areas where the foliage is either diseased or dead. The pruning is an arduous, painful process, involving many decisions where you have to sacrifice one shoot to let another grow unhindered. You always start at the bottom, because trimming off shoots at the top can be pointless if you're going to cut off the whole branch. Also, you might end up cutting off a shoot at the top that could have been left there because a different branch that it was interfering with is going to be completely removed. You get scratched up alot by the thorns, and at several points you stop and stand back and think you're cutting off too much. But by now you've got one side of the rosebush done and you have to work on the other to balance it out. When you're done, the rosebush looks horrifyingly bare-- but now, in place of the shapless mass you started with, you have a definite structure that is pleasing to look at. The last part of the process is to sit back and let new shoots grow, filling out the spaces you left bare. The rosebush is now healthier as a whole, and much better to look at. It's ready for show, so to speak.

Egad, I hope that made some sense.

Shasta

Posted by GZ (Member # 1374) on :

quote:
Do you mean leaving certain scenes largely the same, changing/scrapping others, inserting others, and fixing the grammar and quirks?

This what I generally mean when I think rewriting, although all the parts you mentioned get encompassed in the process. (Although the thought of putting the *whole thing* aside and fully redoing the entire thing fills me with a sense of terror. Not that I couldn’t see a place to do that once in a while, for a short piece or segment, but say a whole novel? <shudder> ) Basically building on the bones laid down by the first draft.

My rewrites increase the “life” quality of the piece for me. It gets rid of flat spots, places were characters aren’t behaving quite right, and other things that nag at me yelling, “Fix me!” I also tend to do this periodically as I go along with the first draft, because those nagging things hamper the flow of new material (for me anyway). Lots of times, the things I add/change serve as new jumping off points for the next segment, so I find it helpful in that regard as well. Things that were working before stay put, getting just a new transition or such if needed for the add/change. For the most part these are not huge changes. The basic plot and main players have stayed the same throughout – its more just the form and details of those elements that have morphed through the rewrite (hopefully that makes sense).

Copyediting is in a way a whole other thing entirely (I find anyway). That’s going word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, and fixing all typos, grammar, and other usage funny business, not story issues. I do do this as I rewrite, but not like I would if checking a final copy. It requires a different sort of thought muscle than the more creative thinking needed for the other aspects of writing.

That’s my 2 (or 12 as it may be ) cents on how rewriting happens for me.

Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :

Re-writing is story fixing.

Copy editing is fixing the mechanics.

Re-writing can take any form you mentioned. If it is your first work, mistakes are going to be very hard to see. That's what crit groups are for. Eyes that have never seen your work will find all sorts of stuff. The best way to handle that is to suck it up and think hard about each thing they say--then get out the red pen and go to it.

Shawn

Posted by Chronicles_of_Empire (Member # 1431) on :

I like to think of the work as construction on some great building. You start with foundations and start building up. But every now and then, you step away and notice that maybe there's an important part of the structure missing here, or a superfluous piece sticking out there. You step back in to fix them to complete your Cathedral.

That's rewriting.

Posted by Bardos (Member # 1260) on :

Re-writing (as used in editing) is certainly not writing the story, again, from the begining. That would be an other novel! for someone can write the same thing in a thousand different ways.

Re-writing (as I see it, at least) is spoting and correcting grammar mistakes, repetitions of words, dialogue (try to make it more realistic), inner dialogue (the same), etc. Also, it means that you might have to delete some scenes or add something you've forgotten.

As an example, I'm now editing my novel, and I noticed that one minor character who should, logicaly, be there in the final chapters is not.

Panic!

Not really. I'll just edit the final scenes of the book, so that I'll include her (the missing minor character) also.

That's what you get when you're using "a cast of thousands". You must be carefull. And hell, I am! But, sometimes.... Well, guess what? That's why we have "re-writing"!

...and re-writing...

You get the picture. It NEVER, actually, ends. Everytime you look at a story, there's going to be something (minor, hopefully) that needs to be fixed.

Though, you have to know when to finish your MAIN editing. Then, if sometime later you see something that also needs fixing, <shrug> ok, you fix it! But you must know where to stop the Main Editing.

Anyway, I'm rumbling.

Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :

Ha! Re-writing is only finished when you are so sick of the thing that you could shredd it and then throw up on it.

Shawn (Happens at about draft 12 for me)

Posted by Brinestone (Member # 747) on :

This may be insightful to you. It certainly was for me.

http://www.hatrack.com/writingclass/lesson04.shtml

Posted by Stepper (Member # 1459) on :

I would like to caution you amid all the re-writing frenzy to be careful not to kill your story with re-writes and fixes. The raw story is the one you wrote with your first draft. It's alive, then. If there are confusion points or holes, yes, fix them, because they'll trip the reader up. But OSC mentioned that once he had his beginning right, everything he's published has been first draft.

Keep it alive.

--S

Posted by Brinestone (Member # 747) on :

True dat. I do lots of rewriting in the beginnings of stories, until I find one I can live with. After that, mostly it's just fixing very little things to improve flow, clarity, etc.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

Do not imagine that rewriting is a single process, or you will lay the ground for your failure.

The rough draft may be the first draft, but the final draft should not be the second. Re-writing must continue until the story is finished.

Posted by Amka (Member # 1262) on :

If rewriting continued until the story was "finished" then no one would send anything to get published!

I rewrite for clarity, or because I think I got the character's response not quite right, which can cascade through the whole story.

Otherwise I actually have little patience with my stories.