The Opening

I spent most of the day rewriting my novel's opening scene for the 500 millionth time! Okay, so I might be exaggerating slightly, but because I have rewritten it dozens of times over the last four years, it feels like the bazillionth time.

My novel didn't come to me as a fully-formed story. It came to me in flashes of scenes, glimpses of characters, and small notions. It only grew into a developed story after a lot of planning and even more writing. I envy writers who approach the page with a full-fledged idea. Even in these final revisions, I've added new scenes and storylines (albeit minor ones that complement the whole). Last year when I worked on the rewrite, I cut out major scenes and changed whole storylines. I'm an organized planner, but my writing style seems to be more chaotic. As frustrating as that is for me, nothing feels more satisfactory than finally nailing that troublesome scene.

I'm off to celebrate with some Red Velvet Cake frozen yogurt. Oh yes, it does exist!