Rewriting to Oblivion (guest post)

November 27, 2024 by Harvey

In Today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* A Special Offer from Cover Designer Tiffanie Gray
* Rewriting to Oblivion (guest post)
* A Special Kind of Self-Challenge
* The Writing
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Quote of the Day

“Personally, I think you learn more from finishing things, from seeing them in print, wincing, and then figuring out what you did wrong, than you could ever do from eternally rewriting the same thing.” Emily Temple

Note: I blatantly stole the above quote from Dan Baldwin’s Quote of the Week.

A Special Offer from Cover Designer Tiffanie Gray

In her comment on yesterday’s post, cover designer Tiffanie Gray wrote,

“If you are a TNDJ reader and have never published a short story, novella or novel because you don’t know where/how to get a cover, I’ve got an offer for you.

“After you read Harvey’s ‘how to start’ guide, email me and I’ll give you a free cover for one ebook. I don’t use AI. I am a professional cover designer and artist, so you wouldn’t be getting a sucky, slapped-together cover.”

Thanks, Tiffanie!

Rewriting to Oblivion

a guest post by Dan Baldwin

“Dan, how many times do you rewrite one of your novels or short stories?”

“I don’t.”

“Whutt?”

“Don’t believe in it.”

“Yeahbutt, yah gotta rewrite!”

“Why?”

“I mean… well… you know… everybody rewrites!”

“I don’t.”

At that point I mentioned Rule #3 of Heinlein’s Five Rules for Writers: You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order. I added Harlan Ellison’s addendum: and only if you agree.

“Yeahbutt, I mean, really, ya just gotta rewrite!”

No, you don’t.

If that process works for you, if you need that mental and emotional reinforcement, knock yourself out. But consider two factors about rewriting. One is a creative decision. The other is a business decision.

I have read many authors bragging about the number of rewrites they produce. Some even advocate always rewriting any project X number of times. I sometimes sense a touch of smugness when I hear, “I always do 20 rewrites.” At that point, the author has strayed from writing into religion.

This is a serious consideration. How much better is rewrite number twenty than rewrite number twelve or six or three? Seriously, after all that labor, how much better is the work?

When I make this comment to other writers, inevitably Mark Twain’s famous advice comes into play: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

Absolutely right, but your subconscious mind already knows that and is always engaged in selecting the right word as you write. Sweating blood over “rich” vs. “wealthy” is a waste of time because the right word is already in place.

I do read through my work as I go. I’ll read yesterday’s Chapter One before I start writing Chapter Two today. During that review, my subconscious mind may say, “Hey, tall is better than high.” I’ll change the one word and move on.

I’ll also correct any grammar or spelling problems or any historical errors I find, but that’s not rewriting. It’s spot checking. The read-through goes fast and I move on without angst.

It’s quite possible and amazingly easy to rewrite a good work into oblivion. The first draft of any work is the closest version to the writer’s heart and the spark that inspired it. Every rewrite takes the writing further from the heart of the writer.

This is a good point to return to Dan’s 85 percent rule. I believe that any proficient writer, like you, will hit 85 percent of his quality goal in the first draft. (This is my blog; these are my numbers.)

A read-through should improve that percentage at least five percent. That brings your work up to 90 percent of your quality goal. I hire an editor and when her comments come in, I adjust the manuscript accordingly (again, if I agree). A good editor should be able to squeeze out another five percent improvement for you.

That brings the first draft up to 95 percent of however you define “really good, man.” To me that’s also good enough.

Before any hackles rise out there, remember achieving 100 percent of any [quality] goal is impossible. That’s especially true in writing if for no other reason that you improve as you write. You’re automatically more proficient at Chapter 45 than you were at Chapter One.

The sweating-blood effort of rewriting, therefore, is an attempt to squeeze out an improvement of no more than a few percentage points: 96 to 99.

Only the individual writer can decide, but s/he should give thought to whether the effort is worth the time.

The second factor is purely a matter of business.

While you’re sweating out the multiple rewrites, the writers who agree with Heinlen and Ellison are busy writing their next work. In the competitive world of publication, they have a head start.

Rewriting just because “that’s what you’re supposed to do” is a waste of time and energy, of heart, of talent, and of the good work you have just completed and the new good work you could be writing instead.

Before you’re tempted to rewrite your latest work, stop and ask yourself a very important question: Why is this a good idea?

*

Thanks for the guest post, Dan.

A Special Kind of Self-Challenge

I like making my novels available for pre-release orders.

For example, my previous novel, Blackwell Ops 30: John Quick Returns, will go live on November 30.

But I finished and published (for pre-release orders) Blackwell Ops 31: Jack Temple yesterday. It will go live on December 14.

Each time I start a new novel, stuck in the back of my mind is the notion that I’d love to get it finished and uploaded for pre-release order before the previous book goes live.

It’s kind of a self-imposed hard deadline. Kind of a special little self-challenge I have going.

You can do the same thing with short stories. When you publish one, schedule it to be released a week or two later. Doing that really adds incentive to get the next story finished before the previous one is released.

Try it. I’m betting some of you will like it. This would be an especially good idea for those of you who are in the Bradbury Challenge but are having trouble finding (or making) time to publish your stories.

Of course, it would also be great for those of you who are thinking of jumping into the Bradbury Challenge.

The Writing

I didn’t do nearly as much writing as I wanted to. Just life things and cycling and then all the prep and publishing of Blackwell Ops 31.

During cycling over the last two chapters and the epilogue of Blackwell Ops 31, I added 92 words (and added them to my numbers below).

That 92 words probably seems like not a big deal to some of you. But those 92 piddly words, like the 920,296 words before them in my quest to hit a million words of fiction this year, happened one word at a time 92 times.

I also added a little over 1000 words to the novella, then decided to set it aside until after the first of the year. Why? ‘Cause in addition to reaching for that million words I’m also trying to reach a novel goal.

Otherwise yesterday was mostly a day off for me. And I’m going to set aside the novella until after the first of the year.

Here’s a good self-enticement you can use to keep you at the computer just a little longer.

If you write a thousand words per hour, just think: Every extra minute you stay in the chair, that’s another 17 words going into your story or novel and another 17 words toward your daily, weekly, monthly, or annual goal.

Plus that extra minute might just be ‘the’ minute when the story takes off, dragging you along with it.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

Special Offer: Lock in 10% Off for a Full Year – Best Value! More from a seemingly excellent marketing guy.

Life Rolls

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………… 1340

Writing of “The Imp” (Erotic Fantasy)
Words brought forward…………….. 3832

Day 1…… 4946 words. To date…… 8468
Day 2…… 3409 words. To date…… 11877
Day 3…… 2188 words. To date…… 14375
Day 4…… 1078 words. To date…… 15453

Fiction for November………………… 84334
Fiction for 2024………………………. 921466
Nonfiction for November…………….. 24970
Nonfiction for 2024…………………… 359390
2024 consumable words…………….. 1,104,895

Average Fiction WPD (November)…. 3244

2024 Novels to Date…………………….. 17
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 1
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 18
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..… 99
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 255
Short story collections……………………. 29

Disclaimer: Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.

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