Why did you need to rewrite it? Was there a part you noticed was the source of you having to rewrite?
Well, it's quite simple actually. Usually when I doubt myself and feel the need to re-write, I'll simply erase (or delete) the part in which need be vanished. Then I simply rephrase/re-write in it's place and I go on from there.
You could do that. I mean, it makes sense. Do whatever you feel you need to do to increase your writing skill and ability.
I'm currently trying to rewrite the first chapter of my novel in 1st person, because it suites the story better, but I'm keeping the original chapter in a separate document just in case I change my mind (again!) or I need to refer to it. Rewriting a part of your story doesn't necessarily make the original section redundant, that's how I see it anyway. Keep it as long as you need it. Good luck!
I'm done with Writer's block I am finally back into writing....but with more wisdom It is now 12:58am on my clock....I'm going to log off and sleep soundly tonight Night!!!!! See you all later tommorow(evening/late night-early morning)
I re-write because it's how a piece gets better. Normally I finish a draft, then set it aside for a few months/a year (pretty much exactly a year between all my most recent drafts of things), and then I pick it up and either start fresh, or if I liked the old draft, open a new file, type away, but constantly refer back to it to steal all the good jokes/images. A lot of the time the first draft is rushed/full of holes or just could have been told better. The first time through feels great, but it's just a rush for yourself. First draft stories are pretty much never good enough to be published unless you're a genius who's written hundreds of novels and knows how to plot them and write them perfectly. If there is a thing I need to address it's often a blanket thing like the narrator isn't suited to it, or the narrative voice at least if it's third person. I went a long long time not writing in first person at all, but now most things I write are because I'm becoming more confident with telling things in distinct voices. I do edit as I go through the first draft and fix massive problems up, but then I read through it later when it's all done and I start seeing niggles and things I'd need to change but I sit on it and sit on it and practice my writing elsewhere until I *know* the first draft wasn't perfect, and then I set out to change it. So the final (hopefully) draft of the novel I just finished was in first person when the original draft had been in third, and I'd been through a different first person narrator on the way. The adventures were much the same, but all the filler between adventures was radically cut down, the villain had completely changed, and everything was a lot tighter. It took I'd say, 4 full re-writes of completely different text every time, and 2 more runs through where I simply changed words and added (or sometimes deleted, though rarely) scenes. Most of my biggest and most effective re-writes I start as almost completely new novels: I think of a new gimmick to open them, and I follow a different emotional path for the characters, and use the story differently to reflect that. The first time the 3rd person narration followed the girl so there was a lot about her father, who was cut entirely by the final draft, and her romantic relationships, which got more complex, but I took further and further steps back until I was telling them from someone else's point of view, so the reader saw surprisingly little of it.
I open a new document and just start writing it from scratch, sometimes referring to the old one (that I have printed out a copy of and keep beside me) for the parts I liked about it, but trying to use new words for the most of the time. what is important I always finish the first draft before starting to change anything important on it, then I let it sit for a couple of months, usually around 8 weeks is enough for me to see it with fresh eyes and know what is wrong with it, which ar the parts I need to change. I agree that you should keep the old ones for later use if you liked them. I always keep my first drafts of everything and start a new one for the changes, but that is also for nostalgia, hihi. I like to remember what my first drafts looked like, and its also a way for me to see if / how I have improved from the first to the last draft.
I'll wait a while (can be from a week to a couple of months, even to year or more - it depends) before doing any editing on a piece. When I have feedback on a story, I either get a clean copy of the story or I do it on the computer, and I write down all the comments (usually only the negative ones/suggestions) So I'll highlight all the comments around the text, underline etc. so that all the feedback I've got is combined and I can see it all at once. Then with the annotated story on one side of the computer screen, I'll open a new word document to put on the other side of the screen (so both documents are open side by side). I'll then just go through the piece, deciding what to change, whether I want to do what the feedback says to etc. I usually make the small changes first like punctuation, sentence lengths, word choice. Then medium changes like adding descriptive details and changing dialogue, and then I'll do the big changes like change of perspective or altering specific plot details, and so on. Sometimes I do the big changes first when it's altering the plot though. If I don't have any feedback, then it's a lot harder. Sometimes I can't distance myself and I like what I've written too much. But I'll eventually convince myself to stop being so attached and just get on with it. So I'll read the story through, and then read it again but this time I'll note down anything I spot that needs changing while I do this. Then I just go through it, seeing if everything makes sense and is clear, have I characterised each character enough, put in enough detail, is the dialogue realistic etc.
Since I hand-write everything, I rewrite nothing until I put it in the comuter. What a nightmare that would be to redo something by hand! If I were to write solely on a computer then I'd spend my time rewriting everything as I go. I doubt I'd finish anything. Once it's in the computer, I let it sit for a week or two before I come back to it. Sometimes I'll stumble upon a story I had forgotten about. It helps me look at it objectively. Cutting things I was in love with while writing becomes easier with time.
I do that a fair bit too - I will cross out a half-page and start over if something isn't looking good. It's in the process of writing though rather than coming to it as a later edit. Obviously just typing it up counts as a fresh draft with all the changes that get made at that point.
I used to scratch out things as I went, but I found that I wasn't getting much done and the story suffered because of it. So now I write out the whole story kind of like a stream-of-thought then put it in the computer and fix what doesn't work or whatever may be the case.
I re-write as I go. I guess that's because I am regularly re-reading it too. Sometimes, after have written a new section, I feel compelled to go back to a previous section to give it a read. Never sure why. Sometimes when writing a new section, I thought pops in to my head about a previous section I had written. Though recently, my wife read what I had written of the four chapters I have and had some constructive critiques. Good stuff too. She had offered that my first chapter did not connect enough with whom the chapter was about. The book is about loss and the person who passes in the first chapter had too little dialogue and my wife noticed the disconnect and I adjust some stuff to accommodate more dialogue and the result was really very impactful. So, I re-write because I see the need. There are section where I feel they are done and do not require any more editing. I've found where my comfort level is with my writing and satisfaction...takes a bit to get there....
I always keep my old piece that I don't use, file them away. Just in case I could used that a little bit later, or edit it more.
I used to do that. Actually, I still do that. I currently have over twenty versions of one novel, which is probably why I haven't published a thing yet. On top of that, the new plan for my novel has differing scenarios, all of which I'm too hesitant to delete in case I might want to change my mind. It's tiring, to put it lightly.
I save parts that might be used at another time, but aren't working for this scene or story. I consider what isn't working: too boring, too long, too short, too out-of-character. I identify the actual purpose of the scene. If there's no purpose for it, then perhaps delete is better than rewrite. I think about the character's mindset for a while. Then I write.
I read online off a website i found with googles help....that you have to be willing to give up some of your writing in order to move on.... I may be willing but i just don't know what needs to go yet or be moved to a later part of my story....
Re-writing for me means starting over from scratch. I open a new word document and get going. My writing turns out better each time. The flow is much better, too; the way the story unravels is much more compelling. I think it's important to be constantly viewing what you've already written and keep whatever you feel like. You sometimes forget how great you developed a particular scene from the previous draft. My story has changed so much through re-writing, and I find it interesting to see which ideas have stuck around since my first draft.
Im the same! the flow improves, the writing gets better for each draft. Sometimes i make major changes in the plot too, like after having finished the first draft I started writing on a sequel because i wasn't happy with the way things ended. or rather, I was happy with how it ended at that moment but I had further chanegs in the events for those people. so at last I started to rewrite and include what i had for the sequel in the first version, making the story more complete right away. I also realized I would never have enough material for an entire sequel, so this was a perfect solution. I also agree on what you say on saving the first draft, I often find the way icaptured a specific moment would never be better in a rewrite, so i keep the best parts and improve the weak parts. Like some one else said, i also save every old draft, not so much because i might want to use stuff again but more for documenting my own progresses as a writer. Its nice to reread it and realize i have grown as a writer, both for writing techique and for plot development.
