It's a part of every book's journey: editing and rewriting. It would be wonderful if you could dash the words onto the page with ease and know that they are perfect. But I don't think that's ever happened. (Note: if you believe that's how it's done OR if you think your text is perfect on the first round, you're delusional.)
Art is nurtured and produced with great care. Writers rewrite, revise, and edit their manuscripts—similar what visual artists do while they are creating paintings.
I've mentioned before that I think artists, whether writers or photographers or painters or sculptors, process their art in similar ways then create art unique to themselves. This blog post discusses that point.
I ran across an article that is discusses images found beneath famous works of art. The masterpieces were x-rayed to expose an earlier version (or an entirely different subject) hidden in the painting. Check it out. My personal favorite is Young Woman Powdering Herself, where the artist painted over his original piece to eliminate a self-portrait. I think that was probably a good idea because I thought it looked like a creepy peeping Tom in the background.
I think it's fascinating that painters also edit their work. The bottom line is that editing and rewriting is not for the novice or the bad writer. It's part of the process for every author. So, don't feel like editing/rewriting is chewing up your time—it's time spent to make your work better and more compelling.
Write on, friends!
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