Rewriting.

It is really important to set goals for myself when writing, and realize those goals realistically. Unfortunately, I know as well as anyone that writing voluminously and speedily do not a story make. I was getting close to the end of The SkyRift when it occurred to me that I was writing the wrong story. So, I restarted. Completely different story. Now I feel that when I sit down, I can write with a lot more clarity. Having a clearer picture in my mind allows me to elucidate the milieu and idea of the story via characterization. The best stories, in my opinion, are not due to great settings, events and systems of thought. They are the arcs of great characters. It would be irresponsible as an author to leave visceral worlds without a heavy carbon footprint, so to speak. Though rewriting the book sounds terrible, it is actually really fun and amazing. It should not push back my timeline very much either. At least, I hope not. If my 1st draft is not finished by November 1, I will have to wait to work on it for a whole month, due to Nanowrimo and the Dr. Lee project that I'll be working on (2000 words a day, folks).

I was speaking with a friend recently who was a little frustrated by the amount of rewrites she was having to do for an indy film that she is producing. She then told me that it is not uncommon to rewrite a hundred times! That places my project in a less daunting light. 

I am about to put my short story, Brimstone Deep, on Smashwords, making it available at the iBook store, Barnes and Noble, etc. It will be nice to not be so exclusive in the way Amazon publishing demands. So, all you out there who are not too excited about Amazon will have other options. 

Do you have a book bouncing around in your head? Join me during National Novel Writing Month. Click here to sign up! It's free and will greatly improve your writing!