The Uncertainty of Rewrites

Aug 8, 2012

Maybe it's because I'm extra tired from getting up at night with a new baby and chasing my toddler around all day, but I'm feeling rather uncertain about the final revision I'm doing on my book.

Who am I kidding? I ALWAYS feel uncertain when doing certain revisions on my book. Namely, final revisions.

Final revisions are where I try to dig deep. After all the semi-final revisions, I take the advice from my beta readers that I haven't already put into effect and get into things like characterizations and deepening relationships. It makes me a little jittery. Am I making things better-- or destroying them?

I think a lot of is due to the fact that in a FINAL revision, this are likely the last big changes I'll make before querying. And that makes me nervous enough to bite my nails. I still have my crit partners look over any big changes I make, and run ideas by them to see what their reactions are to what I'm doing. That's helpful, but a lot of times that voice comes up again that says, "You're destroying the book. You're making it worse."

I do my best to ignore the inner nag and trust my instincts. And my instincts say I'm not destroying it. I hope.

So, my friends, what do you do when your inner devil says you're making your book worse? How do you know when to trust the voice that says something isn't working or when to ignore it? How do you get your confidence back during rewrites?

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7 comments:

Meredith said...

Ugh, I hate that doubting inner voice! I do my best to ignore it and push through the revisions. Good luck!

Angela Cothran said...

Hmm...I usually don't doubt my inner voice. I just jump in and do whatever it says :)

Ruth Josse said...

What do I do when my inner devil says I'm making my book worse? I ignore him and do it anyways.

shelly said...

Trust your instincts.

mshatch said...

luckily I have the best cp who reads my first draft as I write it. That way, when she reads the final draft if I've screwed it up too much she'll tell me. And I save drafts as I go so I don't lose anything.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

When I get like that, I tend to give my manuscript over to my trusted critique partners... or I take a break to give myself some distance from it.

Tanya Reimer said...

I hear ya. Truth is, I try this and that. Over time, I've gotten to know what works when I see it, but I have to try it to know. When I know a book still isn't just right, it usually isn't. I might not know why (being too close to the project) but at least now I know how to find out why.

Hope you get some sleep.

 
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