Writing and Rewriting

Today's Earworm:
Today's Date: December 19, 2016

Well now, we're about halfway through December and I'm just...exhausted. Straight up tired. Why?

Because I've been baking (which you can check out the pics of the goodies and all sorts of things here), decorating, and trying to stay up to date on my writing.

On top of that, I got new flooring! Finally! I swear. I'm so happy to have new flooring. I really am. Which means that I've been unpacking all the shit that I had to pack up to lay it down.

But I've done it and I'm sitting here and was thinking about what to write this round.

And then I remembered that in a part of my Story List (coming on Jan 2nd, guys) that I talk about rewriting.

To be precise, what I have to do to rewrite A Butterfly's Dream. Which is a really old story that can be found running around online. I find that the story line is interesting. The story itself needs a LOT of work.

And I mean a lot of work. Enough so that I've decided to do the following rewriting process. Mind you, it's what I'm planning on doing, just probably not in this order.

1: Collect all of the chapters into one file.

What this means is you're consolidating the various versions of a story. That's what I did already. I took the original story (which is only partially written), the rewritten file with new chapters, and my information all into 3 files.

Mostly because that's what my OCD tells me to do.

I have those files and they're formatted for easy of use.

2: Print out the file.

That's right, I'm going to print out the files in full, punch holes into the sides and stick them into a binder for ease of keeping it in place and access. It will be much easier in the long run.

Especially if you're like me and like to read something on paper. Even if you don't, sometimes working from actual paper works a lot better when it comes to working out what needs to be changed.

3: Buy/find all of your supplies.

I need to pick up some sticky notes actually. I learn this from the lovely Inky Laurens (@InkyLaurens) and Liana Brooks (@LianaBrooks) on twitter. They did a video where they took Inky's story, broke it down and used post its for each scene.

I'm going to adopt this style of rewriting once I get the first round of rewriting/expanding done.

I'll find some proper pens and a clear wall and start.


But first I'll need to find an empty notebook or two.

4: Make notes.

This step will include those empty notebooks or two. I'll sit down with my printed out file and start to make notes on characters, settings, plot ideas, and what I need to fill in or add. I'll do this chapter by chapter.

5: Take those notes and put them onto sticky notes.

Once I have those notes written out and ready for this part, I'll pick up the post its and start to write out my scenes, which goes down into part 6.

6: Arrange sticky notes onto flat surface and start to work out the new outline.

Yes, once I have started on part 5 part 6 also starts. I'm going to lay them out in rows and get them all laid out.

It'll take time and it'll drive me insane, but I'll do it. Because once I'm done, it's time to start with part 7.

7: If need be, remove/consolidate/break up sticky notes.

When I start creating a new outline, I'll start to go over the various scenes to work out what needs to go where, how and when. I'm going to clean up the outline and move scenes around.

But...I'll also combine scenes or break some up or even just straight up remove them. It all depends on the scene and what I'm trying to do.

This is where having a solid plot idea with subplot's is a good idea.

8: Do it with a friend.

This part isn't so much a step as it is a good idea when it comes time to start rearranging your outline. It makes life easier. So I'm going to steal my friend Tonya for a day and sit there planning out A Butterfly's Dream.

It's going to take a while since I also need to figure out what I'm doing with the plot in the long run. It's going to be interesting that's for sure.

But again, this is just what I'm going to do.

How do you edit? Rewrite? What works best for you?

For me, this is going to be a new try. It's going to be fun.