Two days ago I started rewriting again. Right from the beginning. Now, I am very happy with the way the 3rd draft went, content-wise -- the plot is all set and the characters are tight -- I know precisely what happens, when and why, and I have no desire to change any of that. But I am rewriting. From scratch. Again.
This is mainly because I have made the executive decision to go present tense -- it's where my heart lies, and I think it's where I write best. It also means that I can use my 3rd draft as a guideline, rather than trying to work different bits into the existing text which I find to be a HUGE headdache. I'd much rather begin again and smooth it out as I go than pile layer upon layer of revision on top of each other.
As it stands, I have just over 5k. I'm having an 'ugh I hate everything' day today, but beyond that I'm really pleased with the way its going. Everything feels much more solid and a lot less like guess work. I feel like the characters are much more themselves now that I truly do know them inside out. I'm working very closely with my 3rd draft, and it's fun to pick out my favourite bits from that version to put into this one, and I love being able to make notes further along in the story regarding any changes or foreshadowing I'm deciding to make. It really does feel much more like typing up, this time, rather than a whole new story.
Issues I'm having: It feels very wordy, and I think there's going to be a lot of pruning to be done at the end, and my scenes feel pretty short. Scenes, not chapters. I'm averaging about a thousand words per-scene, and I know there's no standard, but still... I think it's the nature of the story though, and all the different strands of PoV I have. I think if I was writing more linearly, it wouldn't be an issue at all, but because I'm hopping around the house it's kind of necessary?
Anyway, that'll be something to alert the betas to when they get their hands on it :)
Will post an excerpt soon (Maybe!)
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