Recently, I began working on the re-writes of my first novel. By starting with the first chapter, I tried to get an idea of my main character. I sent the first couple of pages to some of my beta readers for feedback and all seemed fine. All was ready to go, but I quickly froze in my tracks.
Re-writes are not always a lot of fun and takes a fair amount of time and hard work. I have reworked my short stories so many times it has almost made my eyes bleed! My most recent short story is just over 8,000 words; the longest I’ve written so far, and my beta readers really like it. For something so ‘short’, it certainly took a fair amount of work. For some reason, the re-writing of my first novel was different. To help work around it, I printed my NaNoWriMo novel from last year (2016) and began re-writing.
I was now faced with a dilemma – do I really want to be re-working two novels simultaneously? It made me realise that this is pretty much how professional authors work – they alternate with writing a new WIP, re-write another novel and plan/outline another. It helps with their productivity. Taking a step back, I realised I had a problem with time management. I needed to work harder and smarter in order to achieve my goal of publication. Some things needed to change.
Trouble is, habits are hard to break and not all of them are good for us. Making any necessary changes takes both time and conscious effort. Continuously coming up with new ways to be productive can be very effective and helps us find new ways to improve. We really need to want the change if we want to succeed.
Perhaps I am too close to my first novel or it may still need some work; perhaps both. I can still chip away at it a bit at a time until I’ve reached a point where I am satisfied with it. Like an artist’s canvas, this is still a work in progress. Pretty much like myself, really. 😉
Do you have trouble with re-writes? Are you continuously coming up with new ways to be productive? Do you have problems with managing your time?
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I hear you. In the last two months I rewrote a short story (also 8k) and then tweaked it after getting it back from beta readers before sending it off to an anthology competition, while also revising the first half of my novel, translating a couple of my short stories and writing new stories (some of them still only outlines) and keeping up with social media, of course. It sounds great put like that, but some of it goes by in a blur of colours and letters while parts of it feel like pulling teeth.
I think where I waste the most time is when I forget in which language a project should be in and then have to redo it. And not taking adequate breaks and ending up with headaches that keep me from writing is something else I have to work on as not to waste time.
Being busy with different writing projects at the same time does sound awesome, though, doesn’t it? Good luck with your rewrites 🙂
Writing in two different languages must be tough and I hope you find some way of making it easier for yourself. Yeah, doing different writing projects simultaneously isn’t always as easy as it sounds. My problem is I’m one of those people who have trouble concentrating, like you know, “squirrel”! This can make it difficult to finish anything. Thanks Ronel and the very best of luck to you too! 🙂