On the Rewrite
You have to realize some of the good parts might vanish when you rewrite.
First drafts usually have enough magic in them to be of some use, otherwise why would you have had enough faith even to finish the first draft?
Even rewrites that solve technical issues will kill the magic in a first draft. In songwriting, recording another version to put it in an easier key will mean that all the good moments will need to be recreated, which is virtually impossible.
But rewrites can be useful as they can cause new "happy accidents" to occur, and even totally new directions. You might even abandon what was thought to be the thing you'd be finishing.
The moral: Attempt a rewrite but be prepared for a shift in winds.
As Eno once said about the will o' the wisp nature of creativity and life: That's not the way you're going, that's the way you're going!
First drafts usually have enough magic in them to be of some use, otherwise why would you have had enough faith even to finish the first draft?
Even rewrites that solve technical issues will kill the magic in a first draft. In songwriting, recording another version to put it in an easier key will mean that all the good moments will need to be recreated, which is virtually impossible.
But rewrites can be useful as they can cause new "happy accidents" to occur, and even totally new directions. You might even abandon what was thought to be the thing you'd be finishing.
The moral: Attempt a rewrite but be prepared for a shift in winds.
As Eno once said about the will o' the wisp nature of creativity and life: That's not the way you're going, that's the way you're going!
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