The Writing Support Group

thePower of

the Rewrite

By Patricia Alexander, Writing Support Group

Not many writers understand the true power of the rewrite.

I’ve enjoyed leading a Writing Support Group over the last 38 years wherever I’ve lived. In that time, I’ve learned that most people want quick results based on, well, very little reality. They often imagine getting their first draft accepted by a major publisher and shooting to the Best Sellers’ List.

Umm, I’m so sorry — it just doesn’t work like that.

On the other hand, I’ve always found a handful of writers who amaze me with their dedication to improving the quality of their work before submission. Here are some tips for harnessing what they’ve learned: the Power of the Rewrite.

Show, Don’t Tell. Look for scenes you can convert from description to a character’s thoughts or dialogue with another person. These

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allow your reader to visualize a more active scene. While saying that your character “feels cold” is fine for a first draft, the rewrite is your chance to catch that. Isn’t it more interesting to say your character shivered or turned up their coat collar, could see their breath, or demanded hot coffee?

Show the Symptoms of Emotions. Along the same lines, look for when you’re telling us a character’s emotions and imagine what it would look like instead. The character feels sad, you say? Might they have wet, dull eyes? Feel a lack of energy? Have a voice that sounds falsely bright? These are much more interesting choices! (I highly recommend The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Ackerman & Puglisi.)

Change Monotone Rhythms. It’s very common for the pace of the writing to have too much sameness. Change it up; interrupt it. If you tend to write longer sentences, find places to put some shorter, snappier lines.

If you’re leading up to a cliffhanger, a reveal, or a startling conclusion, look to see if the rhythm of what’s before it is setting these up in the most effective way. Pace and rhythm are a writer’s toy; enjoy playing with them.

Look at the Logic Flow of the Whole Manuscript. I once had a writer of a children’s book in the group who did not realize that the takeaway of her main character’s actions was a negative message, certainly not her goal.

Might your first chapter make more sense as your second chapter? The rewrite is your chance to reorder your chapters, maybe subtract or add one. Does a scene leave us with unanswered questions that you just didn’t see? Look for follow-through and flow.

Cut Unnecessary Words; Add Necessary Ones. People tend to overwrite or underwrite. Over-writers need to look for “junk words,” like very, good, bad, really, truly – and cut them. They also often repeat themselves unnecessarily and use the same word multiple times.

Under-writers can be so terse that their characters can seem like automatons with no real emotions or senses. I had a writer who wrote that there was a fire in a butter factory and left it at that. We had him go back and describe what it smelled like and how long that scent would have lasted and how it affected the whole town.

You’ve done the hard part and filled the blank page or screen. The rewrites (yes, there might be more than one) are the writer’s opportunity to shape and finesse all their good intentions, so their manuscript has maximum impact.

Rewriting is fun! So be patient and enjoy the process. You’ll increase the odds for publication and create something of which you’ll be proud.

Patricia Alexander leads a weekly Writing Support Group on Zoom with limited attendance by reservation. She can be reached at: PatriciaEmilyAlexander@gmail.com.

I have found Patricia to be the most knowledgeable and compassionate editor I have ever known. All her students fall in love with her! Her Zoom meeting is invaluable for anyone with a writing project. ~Patty Hansen, Avila 7

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