Tuesday's Inspiration taken from an essay by Kaatje Hurlbut #amwriting #amrewriting

While I don't know this author, I fnd an interesting quote in her essay. She didn't identifu the source by name but it was from a teacher of writing. So here goes. "You know, a good story is not written, but rewritten."

This resonated with me this morning since I'm in the process of rewriting a story that was completed around 40 years ago. I've rewritten a number of books that when I began writing nearly sold. One Quest For The White Jewel was written during a time when few fantasies were being written and was rejected. The second was Murder and Mint Tea which didn't sell because the publisher had just accepted three series from other writers. The third is now called The Goddesses of Er and was rejected when the publisher decided to publish only non-fiction. All three lingered in the file cabinet for years.

When rewriting each of the books I realized a number of things. During those years, my writing had grown by leaps and bounds. Though the meat of the stories, the plot and the characters were good, the writing needed help. So I rewrote and they are now good stories and have earned a bit of money.

I rewrite constantly. That's because I'm a draft writer and each draft pays attention to one factor of the sto, Plot, Setting, Characters and Language. For me rewriting is the way the stories become complete with added elements with each rewrite.

How about you? Do you rewrite whether on paper or in your head?