I have been doing what I thought was a rewrite but now understand to be simply editing. When you take your work to the "rewrite" phase, be it an entire novel or a short story, are you literally rewriting the entire piece from scratch? Or do you take the original document and go through sentence by sentence and change what's already there? Is it simply a matter of personal preference and routine?
Definition of a 'rewrite'
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I'm no expert (sort of) but I'd call adjusting existing lines editing. To me, I'm currently editing most of my book (and using a LOT of red ink to do so). But the second act action scene that no longer worked within the book's framework and got completely scrapped so I could craft one with a new setting and an antagonist adjustment? That's a rewrite.
But those are just *my* definitions
But those are just *my* definitions
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My rewrite is taking each chapter (either individually, or the whole book in parts), throwing it in the trash, and rewriting the entire chapter from memory while keeping in mind what I had to fix and the points I have to make.
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There's no 'rewrite' phase, if you ask me. Sometimes editing involves tossing out sentences, paragraphs, or whole chapters and replacing them with things that work better. When you have a substantial amount of changes to make - entire new scenes to insert, say - then the word 'rewrite' feels more appropriate.
Yeah, editing and rewriting are two different things. I'm doing what I'd call a rewrite, because I've taken my original main plot and turned it into a subplot, then written an entirely new main plot for it to hang on. I'd say 70% of the scenes are either completely new, or mainly new but incorporate parts of the original scenes.
And that was undertaken based on an agent's advice
This.
Although I don't think I could go from memory. Looking back at the draft and then improving on what sucks sounds closer to what I'm doing. My draft is also written in about 7 different styles, so I make my rewrite more consistant.
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I think it's a matter of degree of revision, subject to interpretation. Here's one such interpretation, from a 2010 blog by Dawn Embers *entire blog here* :
Yeah, I'm re-writing by taking the idea I had put into around 13k words and completely re-doing the whole thing. I think re-writing is for when the story itself isn't working as it should or there's something very wrong about it.
Yes, rewrite to me implies starting over with a blank page. Your ideas, characters, plots, and twists are still there in your head, but the prose on the page is brand new.
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Most of what I do is revise. This is rearranging sentences and tweaking to make things flow. When I do a rewrite, I am completely redoing that section. Whatever I had before is gone. Sometimes my rewrites are as small as 500 words. Sometimes they are entire chapters. I have never once rewritten my entire story though. I will generally try to revise before I go for a rewrite. If that doesn't work, then I rewrite. Everything up to that is revisions. When I am going through for grammar errors, I just consider it editing.
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To me, rewriting means that I'm making large structural changes to the story, whether in terms of plot, pacing, characters, etc.
I think of it like home remodels. If you're redoing your kitchen and you gut it down to the studs and basically start fresh, that's a "rewrite." But if you're keeping most of the existing things and just painting the cabinets or getting new counter tops, that's an "edit." (Can you tell I've been watching too much HGTV?!)
I think of it like home remodels. If you're redoing your kitchen and you gut it down to the studs and basically start fresh, that's a "rewrite." But if you're keeping most of the existing things and just painting the cabinets or getting new counter tops, that's an "edit." (Can you tell I've been watching too much HGTV?!)
I recently *rewrote* my ms changing it from Third person-dual POV, to First person Single POV. The story is essentially the same, but the change in POV is a major rewrite IMO.
I 'rewrite' when I have so many major changes to make that it would be quicker/easier to just start typing on a blank screen. Usually I will refer to the original document but not often (because the changes are so extensive that there is little need).
For instance, I wrote a chapter early on where someone told me I needed to change four instances of "tell" into scenes that would "show." Major type revisions there, going from...
Editing (going through and changing what I already had) would have been more work there than simply writing it again (rewriting).
For instance, I wrote a chapter early on where someone told me I needed to change four instances of "tell" into scenes that would "show." Major type revisions there, going from...
She moved in with mister Rohn after the funeral.
...to a full-fledged 400-word scene describing her moving in. That is a major change in the narrative. Many of the things I added in that scene made later parts of the chapter redundant, or gave me ideas on new things to add later, and so on.
Editing (going through and changing what I already had) would have been more work there than simply writing it again (rewriting).
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When you're under contract, a "rewrite" means a dramatic form of editing. The POV may be changed (such as first person POV to third person), adding chapters, removing entire subplots--line by line throughout the text, changing the entire plot from, say, a medical thriller to a paranormal thriller, etc. etc.
It's essentially a new book, but enhanced with the good bits out of the first one.
It's essentially a new book, but enhanced with the good bits out of the first one.
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