Last week I got a bit stuck in the rewrite of The Unmaker so I decided to stop and do another reading of it, the entire manuscript, instead of trying to rewrite chapter by chapter.

As I’m re-reading the first draft of The Unmaker I am getting a good dose of laughter even though it is not a comedy story. I’m laughing at some of the typos (like spelling words completely backwards) that I’ve made, leaving some words out, and my lack or overuse of commas.

Then I shake my head at the amount of times I used the word just, as in “he just did that”, or “It’s just that…” and so on.  That word sounds odd if you say (or write) it enough times.  I have a lot of little sticky notes that have just one comment on it — Why?  I was thinking that maybe it was the lateness of the hour. Perhaps it was a lack of the proper amount of caffeinated beverages, most likely it was just (lol) the free flow writing of the first draft.

Anyway….

After the re-read and making more notes I dove into the rewriting (a.k.a. second draft) with renewed energy and inspiration.  I’ll save the first draft in its current state though, just in case I need a laugh.

Write out your thoughts, wait a week, then go back and see if still makes sense.