Reading an Old Novel of Mine

Sometime in 2009 or 2010, I'll publish Pixie Dust, one of the many novels I've written, but have been waiting in the wings until their time comes. It was written in 1999 and I haven't touched it since 2004. Needless to say, when I read it over the past few days, it was clear it needs a lot of work.

The story is great. The plot will survive untouched and most characters are dead on. In fact, of the novels I shared with my mother, she liked this one the best because it was more of a mystery than a science fiction story.

But, I've written a lot since this one, and I've improved. Every scene will have to be re-written. Some sub-plots have to be re-paced. I may even have to tidy up the ending. Looking at the story from this distance in time gives me a better editorial perspective. I love the story, but the text needs work in many ways. There's a lot of work to be done–much more than dropping the text into InDesign and laying it out.

But that will be fun. I bet I can make a good story great.