Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Why I rewrite. . .

Okay, I hit chapter three and 12,000 plus words on my new book. Then I hit a six foot thick, nine feet tall wall. Looking back, I just felt it wasn't right. I tried to add to it and see if that was what was wrong. Nope.

So much to any writer's cagrin; I deleted chapter three. All nine pages and 3100 words. Any of you who write know how many hours that equals. So. . . I sat back and looked at those pages, and analyzed what was wrong. My bigest problem as a writer besides my passive voice. (which BTW I think I have fixed.) Is that I hurry through the scenes and tell the story instead of showing them what happened. That is what I did with chapter three.

So after analyzing what I did wrong with the chapter and plotting a little better I sat back down at my lap top and began to type. I slowed myself down and began to show the scene instead of telling. Meanwhile, as the scene unfolded, a secondary scene emerged, I filled out the scene and decided I loved it. Then I sent it typos and all to my best friend.

A few minutes later she called me panting and yelling. She was so excited with the scene. She loved it. She was so drawn into the scene she was pissed off when I had a paragraph of telling in the middle of the action. I almost made my best friend pass out! She says that scene gives the reader a reason to love my character.

I know why I had to rewrite it. . .the additional scene needed to be in there, the reader needed the scene to see that my bad boy assassin can be cold and uncaring one moment and warm and caring the next. Such is his personal life VS. his occupation. Had I not sat back and listened to what my gut was telling me and deleted all of that hard work I wouldn't have that scene.

So to inspiration or gut feelings, wether they occur in ther shower or not, I tip my hat.

3 comments:

Pendragon Inman said...

well techincally, he was "warm and fuzzy" first, then flipped to his "cold and scary" without batting an eye, totally catching you off-guard. Well, then he did 'you know what' and I totally blew me away. Dude--i just didn't think he'd do it! But he did. And i shouldn't have been surprised--but i was. And I STILL can't get over it :P

gutsy woman--just gutsy

C. Michelle Jefferies said...

I think it went well. :) I was so hesitant to write the scene. . . chalk it up to inexperience but now it is done. Hopefully It will carry on through the rest of the series.
Michelle

Pendragon Inman said...

...AND i was even HAPPY when he did it! I've never cheared for something like that before. What a violent guy.