Rewrite or revise?

Sage · Feb 14, 2006

So I've been rereading some of the older stuff that I wrote as I connect sections together (I write scenes that call to me at any given time). I had over time decided that I was going to add something to the climax. I think it will help add some suspense, and I think it's important for the characters. When I get to that scene to add what I planned to, I still like the way it was written, even though I think that little bit is needed. I'm trying to decide whether to just rewrite the scene from scratch to see if it comes out better or worse, to try & work the section I want to add in with what has already been written, or to just stick with that which I already wrote & like.

So this got me thinking. I've heard lots of people say that they'll rewrite a scene that they have a problem w/. I was just wondering what people tend to do: Rewrite a scene, revise the scene, a combination (depends on the scene), or something else.

underthecity · Feb 14, 2006

As I progress along my own WIP, I do both. There are trouble spots where will make adjustments--revise. In other places, I will rewrite. In an earlier draft, I had a paragraph of exposition. Revisions in another spot forced me to rewrite that paragraph into dialog. The scene, of course, plays out much better as dialog. Then that dialog scene gets revised and revised and revised and revised.

That and I'm trying to tighten up the whole thing. Words that seemed so important before get deleted. Sometimes revised lines require a larger rewrite.

It just never ends.

allen

LightShadow · Feb 14, 2006

You have to do both - why limit yourself?

Linda Adams · Feb 15, 2006

I voted "Other" because there was a category not listed. I generally revise as I go along, fixing nitnoid things as I think of them. Rewriting came after when I was trying to shake out the setup problems--lots of rewriting!

But there was some scenes that I simply tossed out because they no longer fit in the story.

aadams73 · Feb 15, 2006

I do whatever needs doing, sometimes one, sometimes the other.

Simon Woodhouse · Feb 15, 2006

If it's going to be easier to rewrite, I do that. I've found trying to improve bits of old writing by stitching bits of new in amongst it doesn't work for me.

I've written three novels, and so far I've rewritten each of them at least twice. I read a piece of advice somewhere that said once you've finished something, put it away and don't look at it for as long as possible. I took this onboard and left each novel for at least six months. But the trouble with that approach was that during the six months my writing improved, so when I went back and read the previous drafts they seemed awful. So bad, that trying to make them better by just rewriting the worse bits wasn't going to do it.

But they improved so much with each rewrite, and I got to know the characters so well, that I didn't really mind doing it.

I don't have the same problems with short stories. This probably comes from the fact that if I've left it for a while, and on return it seems awful, I don't mind just writing it off to experience. Because a short story doesn't require as much effort as a novel (time wise that is), letting them go isn't so hard.

Pike · Feb 15, 2006

I'm definitely a both. As I work on a project I find some passages that sing while others sink. The portions I'm proud of can always use a tweak or two, nobody's perfect. So, working through the first draft I write side notes on what I
want to alter and dump, then rewrite the dumpy portions and tweak, then rewrite again, then tear it all to shreds and run screaming down the hallway until I feel a jolt of inspiration and come back to it all over again.

dante-x · Feb 15, 2006

I do both, really depends on how far from the ideal vision I was when I created it the first time. Sometimes I write something and fully intend to rewrite it later. It might be because the first time around I was just try and get the ideas and general movement of the characters down. Doesn't always work out as planned though, as when I look at the characters closer during the rewrite I sometimes realize that there is no way that the characters will react the way I wrote them the first time around. This often upsets many events that follow. Hrm.. so my advice, maybe don't take my advice heh. Forget I even opened my mouth

Tilly · Feb 16, 2006

Sometimes I tweak a scene, sometimes it needs re-writing from scratch, and sometimes I delete completely. It depends on the specific problems in the scene and how it fits overall.

James D. Macdonald · Feb 16, 2006

How to fix a scene:

Flop it, crop it, or drop it.

That is: show the same scene from a different POV, or, shorten it significantly, or, delete it entirely.

stormie · Feb 16, 2006

aadams73 said:
I do whatever needs doing, sometimes one, sometimes the other.

Yup, me too.

Rewrite or revise?

What do you do to fix a scene

Rewrite it completely

Just add or edit the problem spots

Sometimes one, sometimes the other

Other (explain)

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

underthecity

Finestkind

LightShadow

defender of the blahs!

Linda Adams

Soldier, Storyteller

aadams73

A Work in Progress

Simon Woodhouse

Pike

Chivalry ain't dead

dante-x

Tilly

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

stormie

storm central