The Dreaded Rewrite III

The Darkness You Fear: Ghosts of the Lost Blue Bucket Mine is finished and edited, and I've gone through and added a timeline and research material.

Now all I need do is go through it line by line and make sure nothing is clunky. That it reads well.

I've successfully procrastinated for days now. Didn't do anything yesterday. Once again I am tempted to say, "It's good enough."

I've managed not to give in to that lazy little voice so far. After all, I'm asking people to read what I've written. They deserve my best effort.

So today I'm determined to start the rewrite and push my way to the end of the book. So far, everything I've published has been put through this process, whether I wanted to or not.

It would be easier if I was rewriting as I went along, but part of my process is to push on through and finish the book before I go back and do anything. As much as I dislike rewriting, I've learned that if I start doing it too soon, I get entangled and mired down. I destroy the original concept and lose the momentum.

So editing while I write is a no no. But that probably leaves a bigger job at the end.

Some of the editing is paring down and clarifying, as all writing probably needs that. But at the same time, I usually need to put a bit more description and explanation into my writing. I mean, I keep it to a minimum. I'd rather the characters and the plot carry the story, but I do need to put in telling details to make it feel more real. 

I believe that you have to try to do the right thing. Take the moral high ground as often as possible. (I admit, I don't say Always, because life is too complicated and ambiguous for that.)

I just have to keep reminding myself that once done, the book is going to have my name on it forever. I want to be completely proud of it. If the cost of that is a couple weeks of unpleasant but productive work, then that is what I need to do.

Starting today, dammit.