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Edit or re-write?

LizyLizy
edited April 2014 in Writing
When does an edit become a re-write?

This book I'm working on at the moment was my first ever attempt at a novel, about ten years ago, and although I was dead chuffed at the time to have written it at all, it was pretty dire.

Since then it has gone through several changes, and with more work is now a series of five books.

Now I am tackling the first one again, after not looking at it for 2 or 3 years, and although I still like the plot, I am ripping the writing apart, discarding some, tweaking some, and writing new stuff.

So am I editing? Re-writing? Or is there another word for what I'm doing - apart from "Self-imposed hard work."?

Comments

  • danfangodanfango
    Sounds like rewriting to me. Which, of course, is a type of editing.

    It doesn't really matter what you call it, though.
  • CarolCarol
    What he said. ;)
  • ana sana s
    Reworking.
  • Tiny NellTiny Nell
    Majorly tweaking.

    Re-fleshing the bones and adding a little cosmetic surgery while you're at it.
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    Refreshing? Rejigging to fit a later brief? (Let's not get into later briefs.) Refurbishing? Whatever it is, you're responding to a progression of the story made over ten years, so that the end and the beginning possibly don't quite match any more. At some point you have to call a halt, or it will become the literary Forth Bridge.
  • Stan2Stan2
    Wise words from Mrs Bear.
  • LizyLizy
    Wise words indeed, and I know Mrs Bear is right. This is why I am giving Book one a final chance to come right. If it doesn't, it and the other four will sink without trace.
  • doodledoodle
    know how you feel to some extent lizy. I started a 'novel' about 15 years ago and surprise surprise didn't finish it. I reckon there's 35k words and, re-reading it, it's not bad and I feel it's worth a bit more effort. However, in my case, my writing head is so different now that I can't finish the story or add significant chunks because it would be a different voice.
    Best I can do is smarten up what I have and do a novella OR use the best bits for a handful of shorts. These days, I KNOW I must finish what I start, even if its not great I find it beneficial to bash my way through. Sometimes it comes together sometimes not but I need the satisfaction of completion. Good luck with yours, I hope your book-quins fly!
  • LizyLizy
    edited April 2014
    Thanks for the encouragement, doodle!
    I still like the characters, the plot and the entire concept. I invented a whole world and a non-human race of people - it would be a shame to let all that imagination go to waste.
    I'm tightening it up with a view to publishing an ebouk to see if anyone's interested before I tackle the other four.

    Your word count sounds just the right size for an ebook too - perhaps we'll both publish one this year!
  • ClaudiaClaudia
    These days, I KNOW I must finish what I start, even if its not great I find it beneficial to bash my way through.
    Wish I could be like that. Must try harder!

    Keep going, Lizy - you're right not to let all that imagination go to waste.
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