Rewrite the 1st or start the 2nd

[Juliethejarhead]

Hi All,

Another question, in a similar vein as the 'series conundrum'.

I'm just about finished with my first novel -- but it only runs about 50,000 words. It was a valiant first effort, IMHO, but I know I can do better, much better.

One problem I had was that I took too darn long to finish it. I had weeks when I didn't look at it at all.

Now I know that I have to work on a project every day (almost every day) to keep my own interest in it.

So ...

Do I put this aside and write a second novel (as if it's the first in the series)? I have so many changes I want to make to the central character, and I also think the story lends itself more to third person (limited POV, i.e., the central character).

And ... I want to make it more of an erotic thriller rather than a plain vanilla mystery.

Many thanks for any and all advice.

[James D Macdonald]

Are you saying you want to do a total re-write on this book, as if it were a new novel, or are you saying you want to put your first book aside, and write a whole-new novel?

[Juliethejarhead]

Hi Jim,

I'm planning on writing a whole new novel (though a few of the characters will be the same as the first novel).

[James D Macdonald]

Me, I'd revise the snot out of the first novel. Who knows? In the baking it might rise from 50K words to 60K. Stranger things have happened.

By the time you're done with revision, perhaps only a third of your current work will resemble its present form.

Sure, start writing another novel while you're revising this one, but you're going to have to learn to revise sooner or later. Why not now?

[Jamesaritchie]

It isn;t easy to say without actually seeing the first novel, but I think I agree with James M on this one. Go ahead and start a second novel, but also revise the first one. It's often the second pass that makes a novel come to life.

And odds are high that you'll have to do the same kind of thing to a new novel you write, anyway, so you may as well learn to do it now. You might find yourself with two publishable novels.

[Writing Again]

I tend to both revise my novels and expand my novels as I write. I'll be writing along and suddenly a great character comes in and does something really interesting.

But where did the character come from? How did the situation happen that produced them? What makes what they did resonable?

So I go back and rewrite the prior chapters in such a way that the new character and what happens is "both inevitable and unexpected."

While I'm doing this I rephrase, reedit, rewrite, everything from sentences to chapters. And not one added word is superfluous because each is designed to prestage what has already happened.

[katdad]

As long as the first novel is fresh in your mind, I'd revise the first novel.

But also, as you're working on that, I'd keep notes and some random chapters, themes, etc on the 2nd novel as they pop into your head.

But the first novel will form a better basis for the series if it's improved. It will help you think about your overall arc and such.

Myself, I had a similar situation. I had finished two novels and was working on the 3rd in the series (private detective) when I went back and totally rewrote the second novel, extending it to 68,000 words in the process.

This task has really helped me fix upon the 3rd novel with a firmer grasp, and eventually I may revise the 1st novel as well. That depends however upon a sale.