Rewrites are essential. And incredibly challenging. Medieval hymns pipe through my headphones, as I pore through photos from a recent research trip to France. The search for the true Mona Lisa continues with this latest draft of Woman on the Wall.
Embrace the Process of Rewrites
While annoying, and, at time, incredibly soul-sucking, the rewriting process is necessary to help me flesh out ideas and clarify points. It also helps me explore ideas and alternate possibilities, and even revisit the story — falling in (and sometimes out) of love with characters, arcs, scenes, etc.