Greetings,
As I cleaned out the closets to see what I could toss the other day, I thought about all the writings I've done over the years, too many to count, and I realized not one story had ever been sent out in its original form. I cleaned them up, and cleaned them up, and then cleaned them up some more. It may have been because I was raised by a perfectionist, but I'd like to think it was because I wanted the story to be accepted.
These cleanups are what we writer's refer to as rewrites. They're a necessity. It's what makes our stories more compelling, more alive, and more cohesive. No story is perfect the first time it's put down on paper. So if someone tells you otherwise, don't believe them. All great writers be it of poetry, novels, magazines, newspapers, or script writing have fine-tuned their stories until they can't stand doing it anymore.
Think back to your high school or college days. Do you remember the wonderful essay assignments? Sitting hunched over your desk scratching out and changing things in your notebook as you went. Many classmates of mine visited the wastebasket several times. How about you? Why did we do all the rewrites? To impress our teachers and hopefully get a great grade, right?
Well, if we want our writing to be accepted by the public and publishers we still need to rewrite and rewrite till things smooth out and fall into place. You may even have to chuck a novel if rewriting doesn't help. It wasn't until after I completed a two year writing course that I realized my first book stunk. The gist of it survived, but most was rewritten.
As a freelance writer for a local magazine, I have deadlines to meet so I understand the pressure journalists and magazine writers are under. But you still need to rewrite before handing the article off, otherwise you do a disservice to yourself and the company you're writing for.
It's important for us as writers to read the story aloud after it's completed or as you go along. Many errors are caught by reading the work out loud, not just with your eyes. Even though you have someone proofreading your work, you need to go through it too. Proofreaders don't catch every single error.
If you find you're too tired after writing your first draft to read the story aloud and proof it, take a break. Come back to your story with fresh eyes the next day. You'll be surprised what problems
you discover. Then what do you do? Cleanup and rewrite.
Until Next Time
This is Marlene Chabot
www.marlenechabotbooks.com
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