A few days ago, I posted how after receiving feedback from some beta readers, I decided to do a complete overall of my newest novel.

I was dreading this, actually, thinking that it would be a complete drag to watch chapters be gutted, characters be re-written, and storylines be overhauled.

But I was wrong. I’m rather enjoying it. I feel like I’ve re-invented my creative voice on this novel, it has led me on a new mission of discovery. That’s why I write – the creative process – the piecing of things together – so to re-find my voice in the story is quite encouraging.

With each chapter, I get to discover what I need to change because of the new storyline. It’s like re-chiseling a sculpture to make it more vivid and interesting.

So far, I’ve added one completely new chapter that introduces a new character only mentioned in a cursory fashion in the old book.

Second, I’ve completely re-defined a number of the relationships, making certain problems more subtle, leaving more to the imagination and less obvious.

I re-characterized a couple of my main characters. I discovered some shallow and unconvincing dialogue which I’ve changed to better reflect the new emotional state of my character.

And all of this is just for starters. I have a long way to go, and I’m sure there will be many new discoveries and creative choices which I’ll be able to make.

I’ve always heard authors talk about how “painful” it is to slice and dice something you’ve written, but I’m finding the entire process to be enjoyable. Hopefully because I see how much better the story will be for the hard work.

So a delay is in the works, but it will be worth it in the long run.