Before I dig into today's article I wanted to share an amazing experience I had while writing this week. Actually, it was last night but that's beside the point. I know many, if not all, of you have experienced the emotion or energy displayed within a particular scene you are currently writing. For example, how many of you get pumped up while writing a really energized action scene? How about a scene with thrills and chills so intense you take a break from writing because you never thought you could write like that?
Last night was similar to those examples but completely different. I have to admit, I was in the zone as soon as I started writing. I wrote a romantic scene, a thought provoking scene, and a bloody action scene. Yes, that is a lot of writing and that is also a lot of emotion. What surprised me; however, wasn't the emotional ride but the fact that I found myself relaxing the more I wrote. The action scene was the last for the night and I figured I would be pumped up; it was the complete opposite. I was super relaxed when I saved and shut down the computer. Has this ever happened to you?
I came to a conclusion last week. This decision will have a severe impact on my writing but it is one I feel confident in making. It all came about during a conversation with my wife during dinner; we were discussing my books and my writing projects. She is my number one fan so she is rather interested in what I have in store. She caught me off guard when she compared my two novels. Her remark was 'your second is much better than your first, I think you should write more books like that.' This really got me thinking. You see, my first novel is more of a romance and my second is a dark fantasy/horror. Yea, I know, those two genres are not close at all but I have good reason for each. The first is one that has been on my mind for years and I originally planned for it to be a trilogy. The second comes from a sheer passion and enjoyment of the topic; the same goes for my four other planned novels.
After I did some serious thinking and some additional talking with my wife (I use her to bounce ideas off of at times). I decided that romance is just not the right genre for me. I believe my voice is much stronger in other genres; time will tell on that theory. So, what do I do with my first novel? I mean, this is the same novel I've been shopping around and now I'm just going to dump it? No, this is a story I'm determined to tell but in a different format. Like I said before, I planned for it to be a trilogy; now it will be a standalone novel. This will require me to rewrite the entire novel. Some of the original story I will keep but most will fall away. Is it worth my time to rewrite it? Absolutely; I want to tell this story. Once I'm done I believe the story will be much stronger and the ending will have more punch to it. The ending now is a little hurried.
Why did I come to this decision? For starters, all the rejections got me thinking real hard about the story. This scrutiny led me to the ending which, I have to admit, is a little shaky. No, I'm not happy to have to say that but sometimes the truth hurts. I also saw something missing in the original novel. It is only because I wrote the second novel that I was able to notice it. This omission really took away from the tension and suspense of the story.
What have I learned? I think I jumped the gun by submitting it but then again, maybe I didn't. As we write we improve our skill set and this provides us with a more critical eye for the next project, or in this case a previous one. Is it a bad thing to rewrite a novel? Absolutely not; if you decide you need to do a rewrite it is because you feel like you can make it better. It is a little bit of a shock when you jump to another genre and realize the one you were in doesn't fit very well but those are the growing pains of an author's life.
Be it a rewrite of a novel, a jump to a new genre or both, sometimes a change in direction is just what you need to get you back on the right path.
9 comments:
thanks for that. i am about to do the same. last night had an effect on me as i pondered over my novel. i am halfway through and thought i was going well, but was trying to figure out what it missed. it needs to be written again, tha't's what!
A brave and mature choice. Best of luck with it Brian.
I was thinking about this yesterday - not your post, which I only just read, but the need for writers to share their true voice. I reached a big milestone yesterday with my 10,000th twitter follower. As you know, the tradition on twitter is to sing a song and put it online when you become a 'twitter whale' (anyone over 10k followers). It doesn't happen at any other milestone, only 10k. Well, I chose 'True Colours' (I guess it's 'Colors' but I'm English. Sorry) because I thought it was the best song to express what writers most need to hear from other writers. It was also relevant for me because I used to sing all the time and have kept that part of myself hidden for years, so doing this left me feeling pretty vulnerable. That's part of being creative, though, so I knew I had to do it.
There are many different colours to our creativity. You may find the first novel becomes a smaller arc in your rainbow, Brian, but it is still an important part of it.
Don't be afraid to let them show: Your true colours are beautiful,
Like a rainbow. :)
Rebecca
The song I sang when I reached 10k on Twitter
Oh... and you might want to check your twitter account. (It's a good thing). :)
Tettigoniidae - Good luck and hang in there. It is not easy starting over but could be a huge payoff when it is all said and done. We will see the finished product of your project and mine one day.
Rebecca - First, congratulations on your milestone. That is a major achievement. You are right, we have multiple colors to show (as I'm finding out with my second novel). I also must thank you for the help you gave me with getting over 700 followers. That was awesome!
Great post, and a really good decision. A friend who is a newspaper reported told me that the most important thing for an author to develop was the ability to be self critical.
I rewrote my first book virtually from scratch after the first draft (better early than late) and it was well worth it. The writing you're talking about is definitely what you should be doing.
http://publishersearch.wordpress.com/
Great post, and a really good decision. A friend who is a newspaper reported told me that the most important thing for an author to develop was the ability to be self critical.
I rewrote my first book virtually from scratch after the first draft (better early than late) and it was well worth it. The writing you're talking about is definitely what you should be doing.
http://publishersearch.wordpress.com/
Tahlia - Thank you. I feel very confident in my decision and I believe it will show in the writing. What happened with your 1st book?
I know exactly what you mean. I've been through two genres. In the second I completely destroyed both versions of the first book when I realized that the story was too dark for me. Currently I'm busy with the second version of another book.
I'm very happy that I restarted all those times, because I now feel like I have the entire story (well, I know how it works) and I'm confortable with writing it.
I think the artist within the writer is always looking for the best way to tell the story. If it involves a rewrite... so be it.
Best of luck =)
Misha - I agree, the artist is always looking for the best way because we want to deliver the story in our head in full color. It sounds like you are learning a great deal about yourself and your writing.
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