"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
My Boog Pages
Thursday, May 12
Rewriting Sucks
So now I've committed to write a novel, and the sooner the better. Whoop de damn doo. I have another project I have to complete first, and before I get started on that one, I have of near-complete short stories I want to polish off.
Which reminds me just how much I hate rewriting.
To me, rewriting is not necessarily going back and changing something in the story. In many cases, I do that as part of the initial "writing" - that is, I'm not satisfied with a particular scene, or a phrase here or there is nagging at me, so I keep thinking about it even after I've moved on, and if I come up with an improvement I'll go back and fix it. So I'm still writing, even after I've typed the words "The End."
But once I'm satisfied the story is complete, once I've slammed the cover shut in my mind, going back and rewriting is like pulling teeth. Or, rather, having my own teeth pulled. Pulling someone else's teeth might be kind of fun, depending on who it is.
So now I've got four short stories that are "complete", in that only minor fix-up work is necessary before I can submit them. But that fixing-up is friggin' ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED, and I do not want any part of it.
I know, I know, I should shut my holler box and go do it. Hell, at least I'm better off than this guy. (hat tip: Ray).
