Now that I am beginning the THIRD re-write of my novel, I'm wondering how many times I should do this. It sounds facetious, but it's a question I ponder often. At what point do you just shelve the book, put the years of research and writing behind you and chalk the whole thing up to experience?
From everything I've read, the answer is the same as the answer to most other questions -- "It depends." Charles Frazier rewrote Cold Mountain 12 times (I think) and would have continued to "perfect" it if his wife hadn't given it to an agent to read without his knowledge. But then I've heard of many other novelists who have written (and shelved) several books before writing the one that finally was published.
It would be easier for me to leave this novel behind if I wasn't so sold on the concept. The idea of weaving a novel around a real event and real people (Frank Lloyd Wright, Vachel Lindsay, Charles Deneen) is fascinating to me. EL Doctorow's Ragtime (and probably his other books too) does this to perfection and illuminates a time period in a way that non-fiction doesn't (at least to me). So I'll keep "perfecting" this novel until I'm so sick of it that I can't do it again. Or until it's published!
1 comment:
They say that Tolstoy rewrote his novels dozens of times. They started out as not very good and ended up as masterpieces. I have been working with a writing teacher/mentor named Sharon Bray who does a wonderful job of supporting budding artists. She has since moved to San Diego, but she teaches online classes through UCLA extension. You might check her out.
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