I'm SO incredibly grateful for (and love!) the rewrite stage of a writing a novel. When people ask me what my next book is about (and I haven't started writing it yet), I often hear myself talking in circles. Because I honestly only have a glimmer of what the book is going to be about at the stage.Oh I know the characters. Somewhat. And I know the plot. A little. And I know the location. Fairly well, actually, since I'll have been reading up on that for a while by then. But the actual theme of the novel? And the specific journey the characters will take (their character arc)? That's not nearly so clear.
As I write…all of this comes.
But it's during the rewrite phase when I'm blessed with the insightful perspective and counsel of my editors and my agent, that everything finally comes together. Where things I've written about––but might not have even seen at the time [insert pounding of head here]––start rising to the surface. Start making more sense. Become far more real.
I truly have come to love the characters in A Lasting Impression––Sutton, Claire and Adelicia, and others––and hope you will to.
With a partially frozen Diet Dr. Pepper at hand and my office windows open to allow in the spring breeze, I'm back to it…
