Many many rewrites. Too many to count.

Stephen King says you should write the book through full forward, without trying to fix each chapter or make changes (other than noting them down) and 'tell yourself the story'. Then put it away for six weeks before you do any revisions.

So far, I've not been able to follow that advice! The changes I make are usually plot changes so I feel compelled to write them. The two novels I actually finished each took about two years to write, revise, get critiqued, and polish. I have a friend who's become successful with genre mystery novels and she's required to write a complete new book every FOUR MONTHS.

I'm doomed.
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My website http://www.carolynagosta.com