Revise or Rewrite?

I am revisiting an old manuscript I wrote a few years ago, my Hurricane Katrina YA novel. Hopefully I have learned a thing or two (or three) about writing since I finished the first draft 3 ½ years ago.

I dug the story out a few weeks ago, along with tons of hurricane info. I was trying to find information on birds trapped inside the eye of a hurricane for my critique partner, Jennifer Lambe, because she’s working on this great non-fiction book about weird weather. I read a few pages of the manuscript, the end specifically, and had the ‘I love this story’ moment. Now I want to revise the manuscript, for myself at the very least, to see if I can make the story stronger.

I started with the synopsis (still under construction) and made some plot notes. Now I’m thinking, Is an entire rewrite in order?

Have you ever opened a blank document and rewritten the same story over again two or three years later? I did it once and the story came out so much better. I’m hoping the same thing could happen here. Only one way to find out.

Critique Group Magic

Writing is a solitary activity. Or is it? I have heard the comment that actors are the only artists who must have others around them to work on their craft. Writers, musicians, and painters can work in the privacy of their own home, studio, personal space at their favorite coffee shop, etc.

I may create the first draft of a new manuscript alone, but fortunately, Help is on the Way. Writers may be solitary individuals by personality or by necessity, but there’s nothing most of us like better than talking to other writers. So we form critique groups. I am fortunate to participate in a critique group with three other writers. This has been an amazing experience. Besides the obvious fun of talking with other writers while drinking coffee, I get professional, helpful comments given in a kind manner.

This week I wrote some additional pages on a manuscript I am revising and asked for a quick read. The members of my critique group all replied the very same day with comments.

Some writers say that the key to writing is rewriting. A good critique group can only improve the rewriting. Hopefully, joining a critique group is one step in the right direction on the road to publication.

C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were members of a group called the Inklings where they read works in progress to the group for critique.

Are there any other writers out there who want to brag on their critique group? Are there any other areas of life where you wish you had a critique group?