“Rewriting Tips - Murder your Darlings” by Debra Gaynor
How exciting! You had an idea, cultivated it, and spent countless hours putting it to paper, and now you are finally done! Congratulations! You have done what many dream of doing but lack the drive to accomplish. But now you will have to rely on that drive even more, because now it is time for a rewrite.
I know it sounds crazy, you just finished and you are supposed to change it? Yup. But you can't do it by yourself. You will need the critiques of a few friends who will help you find flaws in what you no doubt consider perfect just as it is. And that is one of the hardest parts of the rewrite, having to "murder your darlings" as Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch once said. Cutting parts of your book you love, but which actually hurt your book in some way.
Step 1: Friendly Critiques
The first thing you need is a fresh perspective. Find 5 or so people who preferably have not heard you talk about your story in detail, and ask them to give it you right between the eyes. Give them a copy of your manuscript and ask them to identify any of the following issues:
1. Scenes or parts of the story that are slow, boring, uninteresting, confusing, predictable or simply do not seem to work. If you weren't my friend, where would you have stopped reading?
2. Characters that aren't three dimensional, appear stereotypical, seem unnecessary, too similar to other characters, or simply do not work.
3. Plot or logic problems, things that didn’t make sense, were too confusing or too simple and predictable.
4. Was dialogue wooden, unrealistic or predictable?
5. Were the descriptions unclear, too long or periodically unnecessary?
6. Finally, what DID work? What were your favorite characters, plot elements and scenes? Did the characters and plot engage you? Did the descriptions immerse you in the story?
Ask them to put this on paper as they read, but get them all together when they are done if possible so you can all share the answers to these questions. You will learn so much about your book it will boggle your mind. I guarantee you will be itching to start your rewrite.
Remember to accept their criticism for exactly what it is…a necessary part of improving your book. Be prepared to read and hear what they have to say, it isn't easy to hear criticism of work we have put so much of ourselves into. And try not to defend your work to them. You cannot be there to explain things to each reader. If they didn’t get it, you didn’t write it the way you had hoped. The areas they agree upon should be taken very seriously. The areas they do not agree upon can be considered subjective, but may still need to be changed. Then your job is to decide what needs to be fixed and how to fix it.
Step 2: The Structural Rewrite
If your critiques came back with a lot of red ink, then you probably need a structural rewrite. A structural rewrite affects the story as a whole. It could mean changes to the plot, characters, or even the genre. One of the most critical structural elements you need to perfect is your beginning, which is why it is the most commonly rewritten part of any book. Authors often go too far back in time when trying to begin their novel. They introduce too many characters and offer too many details. While they do this to perfect the setting it causes an overload of information. If a beginning is boring, you have already lost your audience. You can try flash-forwarding to an exciting part of your book for the first page or so, then start the book normally, which is a common technique that you have probably seen in movies. No matter how you do it, you simply must grab their attention fast!
Step 3: The Sentence Level Rewrite
Ask yourself the following questions: Are your sentences too simple or choppy? Are the pronouns vague? Have your used the most appropriate verbs? Evaluate each word and phrase carefully and keep a list of words you tend to over use. Ask yourself if a phrase, sentence or paragraph is necessary, does the book read better without it? If cutting it out does not affect the flow or plot, then you don't need it.
In conclusion:
Rewriting is not a science. There are no hard and fast rules. As you put it into to practice you will become better. The depressing part is that by the time reach the end of your book you will no doubt be much better at rewriting than you were at the beginning, and "drive" will force you to go back and start over with your new skills. Drive is definitely a double-edged sword; it gives us the power to pursue our dreams, but also forces us to keep going until we achieve them.
