Re-writing Rutt

EclipsesMuse · Dec 9, 2009

I am stuck re-writing my story. I am driving myself and my boyfriend crazy with mu frustrated mood swings. I have tried to put the story down and work on something else, but every time I try to work on the new plot my mind goes back to the re-write.

I have explored multiple character perspectives with this. The issue I am having is trying to figure out where to add the new scenes and plot lines.

In simplest terms I have this already written:

Villain 1 releases guard dog from it's post to gain access to a kingdom (Don't worry, I have the reasons and villain's planned already laid out, actually this is background).
MC hunts down guard dog because it is being used to kill people.
MC and sidekick hunt down guard dog and villain 2 controlling it, who happens to be the villain's daughter.
They defeat her and get the dog back.

Now this is the first book in what I am planning to be a trilogy. So the main villain is not confronted in this book. I am concerned right now for this book's storyline, then I will move on to the others.

What I want to add for this book is this:

Villain 2 has enchanted romantic interest of MC
MC vs. Villain 2
Support Char pushes MC along so he can eliminate his threat, Villain.
Love Interest comes to his senses.
MC and Love Interest find out about Villain 2 and the dog.
Killings ensue.
Villain shrugs off the loss of her daughter. Some eggs have to be broken...

I am having trouble trying to place these elements into the story. Whenever I try to think on it, I get annoyed and decide to procrastinate by watching old Star Trek episodes. I suppose I'll figure it out eventually.

Sevvy · Dec 9, 2009

I have a problem kind of like this with my manuscript right now, and how I'm addressing it is a made a quick outline of the major plot events in my story in my word processor. In a different color, I added in the new scenes, then re-read the outline to see if that worked. Where it didn't, I moved scenes around until it did.

CaroGirl · Dec 9, 2009

My first thought was what is "Rutt" and why are you rewriting it? Unfortunately, the only way to get through the rewriting phase is to do it. You have to come up with the solution and plow through until it's done. There are no shortcuts. But the bright side is that you CAN do it! It's your story and up to you to tell it. Get in there and make it work! Best luck...

RJK · Dec 9, 2009

I finished a novel, revised it to the point where I was ready to let betas look at it. They liked it, found a few errors, but not many.
Now I'm going through it looking at sentence structure, overused words, sentence length, and repeated words and phrases.
It is pure drudgery, requiring a rewrite of sentences throughout the novel, while trying to keep my voice and style. I think I'll have a better novel when I'm done, but I may lose the natural flow I had in the first draft, in the process.

What do you think?

EclipsesMuse · Dec 9, 2009

If you are stiving to keep your voice and style, I think you should be fine. One thoing yu could try is after you edit a part, read it out loud. See if it still flows after the editing.

EclipsesMuse · Dec 9, 2009

Oh, thanks for the advice. I'm actually rewriting it because I am changing the plot and the villain. I will sit down and push myself through it.

Danthia · Dec 9, 2009

One thing you can try, is to just write a summary that includes these elements and let yourself kinda free write. Tell your story, and the important stuff will surface and the links will often connect each other as you work. Then, you can look at it and see how it fits into what you have and where you can tweak. Take a step back and look at it from a macro perspective instead of a micro perspective.

Nateskate · Dec 9, 2009

Re-writes were hellish for me. We can only take one bridge at a time. It may take weeks to perfect a romantic scene, or a battle, or a river adventure. There were weeks where I was redoing a few pages that were essential to the story.

However, it all gets easier. I went from all those "I can't do this!" phases, that when I was done I'd want to jump for joy. It took years, but now when I see this mess of words I actually know I can fix it.

Linda Adams · Dec 9, 2009

EclipsesMuse said:
What I want to add for this book is this:

Villain 2 has enchanted romantic interest of MC
MC vs. Villain 2
Support Char pushes MC along so he can eliminate his threat, Villain.
Love Interest comes to his senses.
MC and Love Interest find out about Villain 2 and the dog.
Killings ensue.
Villain shrugs off the loss of her daughter. Some eggs have to be broken...

I am having trouble trying to place these elements into the story. Whenever I try to think on it, I get annoyed and decide to procrastinate by watching old Star Trek episodes. I suppose I'll figure it out eventually.

Dumb question I have to ask: Why?

Maybe you're stuck because those elements don't quite fit. I kept getting hung up on mine because I had one element that did not want to work no matter what I did with it. The problem was that the timeline was too short to develop it in any way that would have made sense.

EclipsesMuse · Dec 9, 2009

As I said, it's the first in a group of books, these elements are, mostly the results of what the main villain is doing/ sending minions to do.

Re-writing Rutt

EclipsesMuse

Questing

Sevvy

Spec Fic Writer

CaroGirl

Living the dream

RJK

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

EclipsesMuse

Questing

EclipsesMuse

Questing

Danthia

Nateskate

Linda Adams

Soldier, Storyteller

EclipsesMuse

Questing