11 Comments

You don't know how timely this advice is right now. You are always a fountain of inspiration and encouragement, and we are all so lucky to have you. Thank you.

It's a world-building problem, btw :)

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well said!

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I also learned this the hard way :'D I watched one of your videos that talked about going through your scene multiple times checking for different topics and rewriting, and I was like, "No way, do you know how long that's gonna take?!" Lol, like you don't know. Then months later, I was reading one of my chapters and said, "I could rewrite this better." And now that's part of my routine XD

I didn't know about those books you mentioned, they sound awesome! I gotta check them out. And the other one with the alien abduction at the school dance in one of your videos was such a fun idea too 😄

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Ha! I honestly think writers have to learn pretty much everything the hard way.

Also, thank you!!! And I can't believe you remember the alien/prom idea! I developed that solely for that writing course, never intended to actually write it - but sometimes I do think you know, that might be a fun project... ;)

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I rewrote my first novel for 10 years :D I eventually figured it out, but I probably should have given up on it at some point. Oh well. Back then I loved revising. Not so much now.

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Glad it was helpful, David! :)

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Thanks Lynn!! I love that shoe analogy. :) I think those books that sit with us for a long time, driving us nuts but we can't let go of them...those are the ones that need a rewrite. But! The characters and world are so real and developed in our minds, the rewrite is actually a lot less painful than we think it's going to be!

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Oh, I've definitely got that one novel I rewrote into eight different versions tucked away on my laptop! ;) It's interesting that you used to enjoy revising, though. I think a lot of writers really dread it!

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Thank you so much, Rebecca!! I'm happy this was helpful. I wanted to say "sorry" about the world-building problem - but then I realized I should say congrats! Because it's great that you know what the issue is, and now you can fix it :)

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Timely advice indeed :)

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Thank you so much for your wonderful words of wisdom (I love alliteration). I’ve been sitting on a book for… (I really don’t want to admit how long) and like you, refusing to give up on it. What was once a spec inside my shoe has now become a rock and I’m limping around wondering just what I can do. Now, however, after reading about your journey I’m confident I can go back and re-write that beast and, who knows, I might even be able to walk properly😊 Thank you Michelle.

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