Rewriting a story – my experience

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If you’re an author, chances are you didn’t start writing with the first novel you published. You probably have stories soaking up dust somewhere on your laptops or in notebooks long forgotten, am I right? 🙂

That was the case for me. Long before the Avalon Chronicles’ book 1, Avalon Dreams and 2, Avalon Wishes, I had written the series The Sage’s Legacy.

The manuscripts for books 1 and 2 of that series were written when I was 14, thus the style was much different. But I wanted to publish those works as well, not willing to see them forgotten. There was something I liked about my heroine and did not want it missed.

So earlier this year, i started the long task of rewriting both books.
And boy, was it a LONG task, indeed.

First, chain my characters names was a must. What I thought was cool back when I was 14, turned out to be bland and frankly cheesy. So I enlisted my usual google resources, situated the location of my storyline and tried to find appropriate names.

Second, the story itself. Though it had good points, a lot of writing had to be cut out and pieced back together. The dialogue was at times cringe-worthy, and some areas of the books were completely useless to the plot. So I cut. And edited. And rewrote.

It was hard to get back into the story, into what originally made me write it. At the time, i had certain family situations that were reflected in my character’s struggle. Now removed from those, I found it harder to tap into the well of emotions.

Someone once told me it’s easier to write from an angry, negative emotion than from a positive one. This resonated through my struggle with Sage.

But then, something happened. Inspiration struck, and additions were made to the story that in turn created a much fuller, entertaining quest than before. The characters took life like never before, and the dialogue became easy banter. The villains multiplied and all of a sudden I was looking at my series again, and could even see the outline of the third book.

By that point, all that was needed was my trusty editor and beta, and I was able to finalize the books.

Lastly, the covers. I invested in true artsy covers from Ammonia Book Covers, who was a pleasure to work with!

In the end, the long struggle and time i took offline was worth it. My experience with this particular side of writing made me more aware of my style. Would I do it again in the future? Probably. I can’t let a good story go to waste. But I definitely love the end result of the books!

Have you had any experience with rewriting an old story? Share below!