In last week’s blog, Pamela S. Thibodeaux told how she had to rewrite a book in order to get it right. I’m in the early stages of my work-in-progress, but during a critique session I discovered I needed to rewrite a scene to get it right. Sounds easy enough; however, rewriting one scene may have an impact on other parts of the story, and in this case did.

Errors can destroy a reader’s trust.

Not changing an error may lead to readers losing trust in you as a writer. If information is incorrect, a writer has no choice but to correct that information, otherwise the writer chances losing credibility. Someone is bound to notice the error (agent, editor, reader) and mention it in a review or to others. Once you’ve been told something is incorrect, you either need to delete that information, rewrite that information so the error is corrected, or explain why it might be true in this case.

However, there are positives and negatives to rewrites

1. Changes may delete important information.
   1. When rewriting a scene or section of a story, a writer must be careful not to delete information that is referred to later in the story. Sometimes the writer will miss this, which is why it’s good to have Beta readers. I might have a residual memory of the information and perceive it is still there in the story. A reader unfamiliar with the story is more likely to notice the information was never given.
2. Changes may require additional changes.
   1. The change must work with the rest of the scene. In my case, I had my villain hiding in mangroves and seeing what’s going on above. Once it was pointed out to me that the tangled root system and growth of mangroves would not allow him to be in this position, I needed to research and find what he could hide behind. That also changed how he would have to hide (his position) and what he would see. Rather than simply adding a few beach grasses and plopping my villain behind them, I had to rewrite how he could know what was going on above him, what he would hear, and why others wouldn’t see him.
3. Changes may alter the pacing or tone of the story.
   1. The change shouldn’t slow the pacing or change the tone of the story. When working on a specific scene or part of a story, especially if this editing is occurring some time after the rest of the story has been completed, there is the possibility the changes will alter the flow of the story. After rewriting, it’s always important to set the story aside for a while, then pick it up and read it through from start to finish (or at least from start to finish of that section) to make sure the changes didn’t slow the pacing or change the tone.
4. Changes may duplicate later information.
   1. In rewriting a scene, it might be necessary to bring in information earlier. Again, here is why having a Beta reader or critique group helps. A fresh reader is more apt to catch repeated information than the author. Of course, if you have introduced information that is again introduced later in the story, you have more rewriting to do.

The benefit of revising?

Change can create a stronger, richer story.