For various reasons (life in all its glorious unpredictability, mostly) I find myself re-rewriting my second novel. It’s not an unusual state, after all, all writing is rewriting (finally found the man who said it): Writing is rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, intensify scenes. To fall in love with the … Read More
rewrites
Rewrites and primroses
I’ve just delivered the rewritten manuscript of my second novel, WRITTEN in WATER (as it is now called) to my agent. Wish it luck, please. I’ve written about the novel before, here, but it was a while ago (writing a novel is like climbing a mountain, you keep reaching a summit which, you discover, has … Read More
And now for a complete rewrite
When George Plimpton of The Paris Review [pages 6-7] asked Hemingway why he rewrote so many times, he said: I do it to get the words right He was right. Of course he was right. He always is. (He also wrote standing up. Perhaps I should try that.) Since 16 June, when I delivered what … Read More