I don't know about the rest of you writers out there, but I have this thing where in order to do a true rewrite, I have to make myself forget everything I wrote before. Otherwise, I end up falling into the same ruts I was stuck in when I realized I had a problem. And those turns of phrase I once thought were clever (but later realized were lame) will continue to pop up. Bleh.
I wish I had an eraser for my brain. Or, like the poster said yesterday, I wish I could go back in time and punch myself in the face so I don't make those mistakes in the first place.
And anyone who ever said that writing was easy? Yeah, I'd like to punch them in the face, too. Hard. Open a vein, my ass. I got a vein for ya right here, bud.
In better news, I did manage to get 888 words rewritten on chapter one and they don't suck so far. So that's something.
How's your work going?
888 words is nothing to sneeze at! I find that the best way to "erase" your memory is to take a long break from whatever you want to rewrite. Like, maybe two weeks. And then slowly let yourself get back into it, without reading anything you've written before. Helps me a LOT. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteHurray for 888 non-sucky words! I think that's a good sign. :) But yea, I try not to think about the other books, *glare*, when I write news ones.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo for 888 words! And I agree with you. I hate it when people say writing is easy. *snorts*
ReplyDeleteI found what worked for me was critiquing someone else's work. It's amazing the mistakes you can find in your own work after you do that!
ReplyDeleteSadly, by the time I get to the end of a manuscript, I HAVE forgotten most of what I wrote.
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss this yesterday?
ReplyDeleteAnyway - I hear you! I have often thought to start fresh (the idea's in my head, just go with it) because all the pretty words are hard to erase! Or I try and cut and paste some pithy phrase into the 'new' words and it just doesn't work. Very frustrating - and leads me back to your conversation about over-editing!
A vicious circle, B.E.!!!