I should probably admit that I've been avoiding writing the second draft of Uneven Lines (Ooooh. Sorry, actually having a title kind of gives me chills. It's so shiny!). I did already rewrite the first chapter, but that was the easy part. Nothing in the first chapter had to change, structurally speaking. The things that happened in the first draft are the same things that happen in the second, just with a whole lot of new words to tell them.
Now I'm faced with Chapter Two. And it's not nearly as simple as the first. I knew that in the second draft I was going to have to break the existing chapters down, often having each scene be its own chapter. Most of the chapters in the first draft were too long, so this seemed the most logical way to make them shorter. I also find that having a lot of scene cuts within a chapter can be disjointing for the reader. But it's easier said than done. Chapter Two has three scenes in it, but I really don't feel like any of them can stand on their own. But together, the chapter feels jumpy. The scene cuts bother me. So I'm not sure what I should do.
I've thought about rearranging. I could put the first and third scenes together, but the third scene reveals something that I don't want revealed right away. And the second scene isn't nearly strong enough to be its own chapter. I don't want the reader to be bored so early in the book. Then that makes me wonder if I need the scene at all, but without it the subplot won't get started early enough.
I guess the easiest answer is to rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. This is probably the hardest chapter to figure out. Most of the scenes later on in the book will be able to stand on their own as chapters. I probably need to write some new scenes to help make these early chapters stronger. Which isn't so bad, really. I love writing new scenes.
So how do you deal with rewriting weak chapters? Do you find you have to rearrange a lot of scenes when you start editing?
I hope everyone has a good day. I certainly will because I got the day off work to go visit as many blogs as I can!