I’ve done it again. I started my new erotic novel about a month ago and I have just decided to scrap the whole thing and start over. Over 30,000 words in the bin. It’s painful, but the right thing to do. The reason for this drastic rewrite is that I once again started writing from the wrong angle.
This is my first full erotic novel, so going in, I was not as confident as I could be. This is a first for me, so I am more conscious of the need to get it right. Which is of course ridiculous, because there is no manual that states, ‘If you write like x, you will be a success’. You write the story you want to write. That’s all.
I decided – in my wisdom (not!) – to write Regency romance. It did sort of fit the story I wanted to tell, but after 30k I had to finally admit to myself that it wasn’t working. The time period was wrong. Completely wrong. So in order to salvage the book, I made the drastic decision to cut it and start over. The main story still stands. The characters can still be used (they were wrong in that time period anyhow) and I only have to tweak my plan a little. But I am not going to write the story I want to write, not the story I think will sell. Hopefully the story will sell nevertheless, but writing from the heart is always the best way to write. And far more fun.
You’d think I would have learned by now to write MY story. That staying true to myself will result in a better story – and ensure I have more fun along the way too. But no. I clearly still have a lot to learn.
Onwards and upward then. I am almost done changing my plan and then it is time to write again. Joyfully this time.