Short Fiction

I am putting a delay on any submission of “The Tower.” I have finished reading the rough draft and I can tell it needs to be rewritten. There are usable parts and the general plot will remain the same.

In a blog entry I made in Coffee with David, I made a comment about how I run into some people who think that it is easy to write a book, get published, and live wealthy. Facing a total rewrite would put some hesitation and fear into them—or would act as a much needed glass of ice water thrown in the face. Writing fiction is an art. As an artesian, I never want to feel like I do not need to work at this craft very hard. Imagination and story craft are as the muscles in your arm: if you do not put strain on them, they will not build; if you do not use them, they will atrophy.

In writing, most of the real work of story craft we do is in the rewrite. I wonder what Frank Hubert felt when he rewrote Dune? Personally, I am glad he did. His son released the original story and I read it. It was good, but not anywhere as powerful as the novel we know became. I will be spending next week rewriting “The Tower” to create a more powerful story.

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