Fessing up

Okay, okay. I know I’ve made several comments about how little I like rewriting. And how infrequently I do it.

But things, I’ve come to realize lately, have changed.

The series I’m working on now — the one starring chic werewolf Sophie Garou — is incredibly fun to write, and I love having Austin as my setting. But I’m finding that the depth — and the humor — doesn’t always come out the first time through (although when it does, it’s fabulous).

So now, when I sit down to write a scene, my main goal is to put my characters through their paces — in other words, get them from A to B — as eloquently and elegantly as possible. (Even though B turns into C or even Q more often than not.) Then, when I’m relatively happy with the arc of the scene, I go back and perk up the dull bits. I try to find better verbs and images, and shave off the areas that drag. (Or jazz them up with stronger — often quirkier — language, or asides.) And I keep doing it until I get it right, which sometimes takes three or four passes.

So I’m revising more, and having fun with it, because it’s exciting to watch a ho-hum scene roar to life with a few well-chosen words. But beyond that, I’ve got a project I love, and I’ve cleared the decks for it. No more morning obligations — other than my Town Lake trot, that is, and my standing date with my computer. I fall into the world I’ve created daily now, and every session with my laptop brings new (and often bizarre) discoveries.

What more can I say? It’s good to be back in the saddle again — or at least back in my favorite chair at Starbucks.

Just don’t ask me how my garden’s doing. 🙂