GRAHAM 1 REWRITE
Posted on October 3, 2013
I am spending the month of October rewriting Graham 1. The book was written almost fourteen years ago and my writing has grown so much since then. The original clocks in at just over 14,000 words, a short novel to be sure. And with the other two books in the series sitting at 80,000 words, it feels a little timid to me.
I was nervous about approaching an old work and trying to rewrite it. Would I really change that much? The answer is yes.
I have now completed the first six chapters. I have kept the chapter titles the same and the plot elements also intact. What has changed is the dialogue and details. The characters have much more distinctive voices now and there is so much more rich back story inserted.
What has me even more excited is that I wrote a new chapter today. Chapter 6, Looking Up, adds a new character that will cause Graham some added turmoil. It will also help make his decision to follow his grandfather more relatable. The insertion of Melan, a blue-skinned gargoyle, flows beautifully.
With six chapters down and nine to go, the book is already up to 9,000 words. It's looking like I might hit 30,000 with this one.
What's equally exciting is that Keith Robinson is revamping the covers for all three books so they have distinctive trade dress and be far more true to the nature of the stories within. The covers will look more sophisticated and portray the lively fantasy elements that abound in the books. I am hoping to reveal them sometime this month.
Check back in a week or two to see a chapter comparison between the old and new version.