Twisted Tuesday: REWRITING, Step 3

So it's official. I completed my rewrite.
Totally.
In full.
All done.
Finished.
Tout est fait. I typed: THE END.

Just over 76,000 words, successfully incorporating an added plot twist, upped the unique voice element, axed characters, a change from past tense to present tense, a few personalized descriptives enhancing character development, and new possibilities for book II and III.

Yeah, I'm pretty psyched. Now, I'll be looking over beta reads and edits, and have one amazing author friends (waves at AE) yet to read, but I'm on the homestretch, readying to send my baby out into the great beyond and excited to start work on both my MG fantasies and picture books.

That's my ROW80 PROGRESS report.  Please take a gander over to my ROW80 motivation partners and encourage them in their writing progress: Susan's PROGRESS, Margo's PROGRESS, C.Lee's PROGRESS.

I have more to say about completing my REwrite, but I did promise to continue the discussion on REwriting from where we left off last week. So here goes:

In STEP 1, we examined our reasons for choosing to REwrite instead of REvising. STEP 2, we chatted about breaking the process of rewriting into scenes, and I introduced my index card method. If you haven't read them you may need to because this post is simply moving forward with the next steps in the process. Feel free to take a peek. We'll wait.

So, moving on to STEP 3.

SPLIT SCREEN:

4. I already have a new document opened which I've entitled Workspace: 'Title of Book', and cut and pasted the existing scene into that blank space. Now, I open up another blank document and start the scene from scratch, always having the old scene there as a reference--aka SPLIT SCREEN. Yes, I know there are programs out there to do such things, but this is easy, right in front of me, and I won't have to convert any material to a Word doc. when it's time to submit to an agent, publisher, or editor. 


I want to note that starting the scene from scratch means physically writing a new opening line with new intrigue, pulling the reader into the scene & chapter. This also helps me switch gears to a new mindset for where I want this REwrite to take the audience.


5. After I've written maybe the first two 'ish' paragraphs, I start referencing the index cards I've developed--the ones with the important elements from the original draft I know must be in the scene as well as the index cards of new info I want to weave throughout the scene, chapter, and eventually the story.


6. As I utilize my index card notes, I'm constantly referencing my document labeled Workspace: 'Title of Book.' Sometimes I find a dialog tag or descriptive that seems perfect for where I am in the scene. Waste not want not, right? By doing this, I'm also analyzing myself as a writer. I see where I've been and watch myself edit my own material, giving it life in a more consistent and concise way.

7. Then, I layer voice and description and elements to enhance the scene just as I did when filling out my simple index cards.

Next time, I'll refer to #6 above more specifically. How through this complete manuscript REwrite I've seen myself grow through dialog. J

I've also decided to slow down on blogging so I can get these beta reads and edits completed. I'll keep posting on Tuesdays and probably sporadically. My best as always and tapping fingers and feet....