On Writing: Rewriting

There is a magic in rewriting a story and I discover its beauty the more rewriting comes to an end. I’ve rewritten 21 of the 27 chapters and even if I cut some of them and expanded others, the fact is that the original story is on its end.

But my story is not!

It feels strange to alter my story so much but it’s a beautiful feeling. Like the first draft was an unfinished puzzle and now I can finally put the last pieces together so I can see the bigger picture. 

The questions I had, regarding the plot, are now answered and the more I work on it, the more I realize that I write the final scenes of the old draft so that I can actually write the final chapters, of my new story, from scratch!

The two drafts begin to diverge and I’m in the intersection point. A feeling of sadness overwhelms me as I’m forced to say goodbye to a story I ached so much to write, but at the same time I feel relieved as the new version of it, is better and I feel proud.

Proud that I took the decision to rewrite it, because it was a good one, and also because rewriting taught me some very important lessons:

• Cut the scenes that stall the progress.
• Rewrite those scenes that need more power.
• Find the holes in the plot and change them.
• Not necessarily follow the same pace as the first draft.

Summarizing it, rewriting is like reinventing your story. We take the raw idea that is practically the first draft and we dust off the unnecessary stuff so that we can find the gem that was there since the beginning.

What is your experience with rewriting? Any secrets to tell?