It's the 1st Wednesday. Happy Insecure Writers Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. And thanks to this month's awesome hosts: Tamara Narayan, Patsy Collins, M.J. Fifield, and Nicohle Christopherson!
The question this month asks: have you ever
pulled out a really old story and reworked it?
My first novel, Switched, a sci-fi romance, was
published in 2001. As soon as it was accepted, I started on the sequel, Switched, Too. The fun part of Switched was the smart-talking heroine
from Earth who was accidentally transported aboard an alien spaceship. The hero
(human) from an alien planet, in contrast, was stiff, formal, composed. Think Star Trek’s Mr. Spock.
In the second book, the hero
(from Earth) was the smart aleck and the heroine super serious. My editor hated
her. Thought she should be pushed out an airlock (into space). I rewrote that
story so many times, trying to please the editor, that I rewrote the life out
of it.
Skip ahead ten years. Life and family
obligations brought my writing career into hiatus. When things settled down and
I wanted to write again, self-publishing was heating up. Since I had the rights
back to Switched, I self-published it
then immediately started on the sequel. Again.
I knew there were good sections
in Switched, Too. I also knew I had
to rework many sections as well as work on the heroine, making her likeable.
Actually, what I needed to do was find a good reason for her standoffishness
and share that with the reader.
Taking a manuscript that was on
at least five 3.5” floppy disks and working it into a cohesive story became a
Herculean task. It had been written in the days of saving each chapter in a
separate file. I’m pretty sure I wrote it in Works. Not Word, Works. I printed
out each chapter, used a spreadsheet to identify each scene, its purpose, etc.,
then used colored markers to highlight what I wanted to keep and what to delete.
The next step involved cutting
and pasting. We’ve gotten used to doing that electronically. I used scissors
and Scotch tape. Now I didn’t want to retype a 100k manuscript, so I had to
identify where each section came from. I also had to write transitions between
scenes. Eventually, I had a rough manuscript. Revising, editing, revising more,
editing again. Finally, I had the story the way I originally “saw” it. And I
liked it. Off it went to a freelance editor who’d read Switched. Her suggestions made the story stronger, and at last it
was ready for publication.
In the time it took to go from an
old manuscript and put it into publishable form, I could have written two 100k
books. When I started, I had no idea how much work it would be. Was it worth it?
Yes. I’m glad I persisted. Writing the third book in the series was much
easier. Would I do it again? I’m not sure. I’d really have to feel strongly
about the story.
I read that Jennifer Crusie
said it was easier to write a new story than to rewrite an old one. From my experience,
I can say she’s right.
Be careful what you wish
for...you might get it.
Down-sized astronaut candidate
Scott Cherella leaps at the chance to go into space. He just has to pretend to
be the captain of an Alliance of Planets starship. His lifelong dream quickly
becomes a nightmare when sabotage erupts. To save the ship and crew he has to
depend on an uptight, disapproving colleague.
The only time Veronese Qilana
broke the rules tragedy resulted. She vowed never again. Now, to protect the
real starship captain, she'll have to deceive the crew by helping the imposter.
They must work together to uncover the saboteur and get the crew safely home.
In doing so, they discover opposites really do attract.
Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.
I'll be late responding and visiting because I'll be traveling this week.
I'll be late responding and visiting because I'll be traveling this week.
Wow, what a process that was to rework a manuscript on floppy disks using scissors and tape :-) Sometimes, I forget how far we've come with technology in such a relatively short period of time.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, indeed.
DeleteYou have definitely come a long way as to where technological tools are concerned. I remember the 5 1/4 floppy disks.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best as you continue to write your way in the world.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat
I remember those 5 1/4 floppies, which were really floppy. LOL
DeleteI love a story with a happy ending. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Me, too, Anna.
DeleteSo glad you stuck with it! I remember those days of frustration well. At least you could get your material off the disks. Some of mine were on Framework which had a life expectancy of I think 4 months before becoming obsolete and unopenable.
ReplyDeleteFrustration is right. Never heard of Framework. I hope you didn't have to retype all those stories. Yikes!
DeleteWow! Your determination to see it through is impressive. And I thought typing up a handwritten manuscript was a chore ;-) Good for you!
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I lost an over-stuffed 3-ring binder - containing every poem I'd ever written - in a fire. It took several years for the inspiration for poems to return, but in the interim I began to write novels and short stories.
How awful to lose so much of your work. I can't imagine trying to recreate those poems or to find the inspiration to write more. It's great that you're able to write what you do.
Delete