If you haven’t already heard, I’m currently in the process
of rewriting my first novel, Letters from
Linc, so that I can release the ten year anniversary edition. It’s hard to
believe it’s been ten years since the book was published. On the other hand, I
can tell it’s been a long time since this book was published. There’s nothing
like doing a rewrite of a ten year old book to make your flaws as writer so
glaringly obvious that you cringe when you read it.
Before I go on, let me make one thing clear. I love Letters from Linc. The book opened a lot
of doors for me in the writing world and also brought some amazing people into
my life. I’ve been contacted by strangers who have told me of the positive
impact it had on their lives. As much as I love Linc, the passage of time has
allowed me to see where it can be improved.
The first thing jumping out at me is the heavy use of
adverbs. I once had an editor tell me I was addicted to using adverbs. Until
she pointed it out, I never thought much of it. I grew up reading books that
used adverbs to describe dialogue so it made sense to me to use it when I was a
writer. Now I know better. Instead of writing that Linc excitedly said
something, I should describe Linc’s excitement. Show the readers he is excited
instead of telling them.
Speaking of showing readers versus telling them, there are a
number of passages in Letters from Linc
in which I told the readers what happened. Looking at
those passages ten years later, I recognize how I screwed up by telling the
readers what happened instead of showing them.
Some scenes are either too short and
the reader would benefit from seeing more of what happened while others should
be cut because they don’t advance the story. There is also a point where I feel
I rushed too quickly to reunite the main characters. The separation of the two
was ten days long but the story didn’t expand on that and show readers what it
needed to. Instead, it told readers that it happened and then a few pages later
told them it was over and the story moved on.
I’m also ashamed to admit there are some editing mistakes. Words
are missing or the wrong word is used; a word spell check wouldn’t alert me to
because the word was spelled correctly. For example, saying lightening when I
meant lightning. There are also some punctuation errors as well as too many
dialogue tags in some scenes.
It’s amazing what a few years will do to your perspective on
your story. Ten years ago, I probably would not have found most of this. Wait,
I obviously didn’t realize it given that I moved forward with publishing the
novel. Nothing like ten years to help a writer improve their craft and make her second guess her early work, but I guess I should look for that silver
lining.
Okay, my first novel had some problems. Dare I say, it
sucked? At least I’ve grown and learned and will be righting those wrongs.
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