Rewriting a story - my experience

If you're an author, chances are you didn't start writing with the first novel you published. You probably have stories soaking up dust somewhere on your laptops or in notebooks long forgotten, am I right? :) That was the case for me. Long before the Avalon Chronicles' book 1, Avalon Dreams and 2, Avalon Wishes, I had written the series The Sage's Legacy. The manuscripts for books 1 and 2 of that series were written when I was 14, thus the style was much different. But I wanted to publish those works as well, not willing to see them forgotten. There was something I liked about my heroine and did not want it missed. So earlier this year, i started the long task of rewriting both books. And boy, was it a LONG task, indeed. First, chain my characters names was a must. What I thought was cool back when I was 14, turned out to be bland and frankly cheesy. So I enlisted my usual google resources, situated the location of my storyline and tried to find appropriate names. Second, the story itself. Though it had good points, a lot of writing had to be cut out and pieced back together. The dialogue was at times cringe-worthy, and some areas of the books were completely useless to the plot. So I cut. And edited. And rewrote. It was hard to get back into the story, into what originally made me write it. At the time, i had certain family situations that were reflected in my character's struggle. Now removed from those, I found it harder to tap into the well of emotions. Someone once told me it's easier to write from an angry, negative emotion than from a positive one. This resonated through my struggle with Sage. But then, something happened. Inspiration struck, and additions were made to the story that in turn created a much fuller, entertaining quest than before. The characters took life like never before, and the dialogue became easy banter. The villains multiplied and all of a sudden I was looking at my series again, and could even see the outline of the third book. By that point, all that was needed was my trusty editor and beta, and I was able to finalize the books. Lastly, the covers. I invested in true artsy covers from Ammonia Book Covers, who was a pleasure to work with! In the end, the long struggle and time i took offline was worth it. My experience with this particular side of writing made me more aware of my style. Would I do it again in the future? Probably. I can't let a good story go to waste. But I definitely love the end result of the books! Have you had any experience with rewriting an old story? Share below!