Thread: How many rewrites?

How many rewrites do you typically do? I have been rewriting mine for about 7 months. I am loving what I am doing but wonder when I will be satisfied with what I have. I think I am near to getting the story in a state that I like, but then I will have to start editing the text.

Wordsworth rewrote one of his poems over a 50 year period. By contrast, one of mine is only in its 58th draft...

I edit as I go often, but it's still going to need several goings over after I finish, I imagine. It's hard to count all the many times I have already been over certain scenes. Some scenes just seem to write themselves though, and need much less work. One of my problems is that I am constantly changing my mind as to how I want things to happen, always thinking of a better way... ack.

Perhaps I'm an exceptional case, as I only have one (unfinished) novel, but thus far I haven't rewritten any part of it, and I don't plan to rewrite anything once I'm done. I've made a lot of changes to the plot of the unwritten parts, but I've never gone back and made any major alterations to the finished portions.

That's not to say that my story won't need editing, of course. I'm sure it'll be cut down like crazy once I've completed it. However, I operate under the engineer's motto of "Design it first. Build it right." I know my story before I write it, so there's no need for rewrites.

I write it once, edit it once, and that's it.

I think I have become obsessed with my character and story. Constantly thinking of new ways for him to do what he needs to do, and new conflicts in his path. But I am glad I enjoy it.

Thanks for the replies, I am surprised about the difference in opinions.

What Sam W says. Write it. One good line edit. Job done.

Been writing my first book for over 2 years now, but even before that it saw many inferior forms. Currently, the latest, and last form, is undergoing its second edit. I just have to be patient and believe in what I write and eventually I'll hopefully see something worth sharing. Until then I'm also write another book to refine my skills and to vent my frustration with my other.

I think this kind of decision is based entirely on who you are as a writer and what your style is. I'm all in favor of continual re-writes, but keep in mind that if you keep re-writing the same story, you're not going to write any new ones and that will stunt your growth.

Originally Posted by Robdemanc

How many rewrites do you typically do? I have been rewriting mine for about 7 months. I am loving what I am doing but wonder when I will be satisfied with what I have. I think I am near to getting the story in a state that I like, but then I will have to start editing the text.

How do you differentiate between rewriting and editing? My dictionary says both mean revising. Some people get themselves all tangled up over the jargon that some writers play with. Most of it's b.s., imho.

Well, it certainly makes no difference to me what you call it. Revisions, changes, edits, rewrites -- it's all the same thing to me, it just varies in the amount I do it.

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

How do you differentiate between rewriting and editing? My dictionary says both mean revising. Some people get themselves all tangled up over the jargon that some writers play with. Most of it's b.s., imho.

I consider rewriting to be changing the way a scene is written, or changing a section of the story so that characters get dropped, or something happens in a different way. I suppose that could be seen as editing the story? Editing for me, is text editing, where I am changing the way sentences and paragraphs are written.

Originally Posted by jburden

I think this kind of decision is based entirely on who you are as a writer and what your style is. I'm all in favor of continual re-writes, but keep in mind that if you keep re-writing the same story, you're not going to write any new ones and that will stunt your growth.

Good point to keep in mind thanks. I have already started on another story, but I then went back to my old one after a moment of clarity about one of the characters in it.

Originally Posted by Robdemanc

I consider rewriting to be changing the way a scene is written, or changing a section of the story so that characters get dropped, or something happens in a different way. I suppose that could be seen as editing the story? Editing for me, is text editing, where I am changing the way sentences and paragraphs are written.

I feel the same way. Rewriting is changing the story itself; editing is changing how you're presenting it. Changing "Bob died," to "Bob became immortal," is a rewrite. Changing "Bob got shot and shot and shot and bled all over the place and eventually stopped breathing and living," to "Bob got gunned down," is an edit.

I know two published writers (one on the New York Best Sellers List for many years) and they both advised me to be sure to edit, edit, edit, and edit some more. Re-writes are very important, but they also said just be sure not to keep adding more plot - because then it can get bogged down. I've editted my book until I started to get sick of reading about my characters. I was also told if this is your first book to go back and make sure that you do re-write at least the first four chapters if not the whole book. As your book gets longer, your writing abilities get stronger... therefore you want the beginning of your book to be as strong as the end. Anyway, I'm just going by what I was told. I didn't think I could argue with their success. All in all, I guess it's up to you and what you think of your finished product.