Since I’m new to novel writing, and have only completed one manuscript, I’ve started a revision class.

Penning a novel, as the instructor pointed out, is like taking a photo with a digital camera. It’s only the starting point.

When you take a photo with film, you get what you get. The photo is done.

But using digital allows you to pull the photo in with PhotoShop (or Gimp, as I use) and manipulate the pixels, add or remove elements and make it exactly what you want it to be.

The story you tell with an image isn’t set in stone when you press the shutter release button. It’s only the foundation of the story.

The same is true when telling a story with a novel. After the first draft, it’s time for the work of manipulating the pixels and adding or removing elements. It’s time to make the original exactly what you want it to be.

It’s almost as much work–maybe more–as penning the first draft.

Which means if you’re going to get through the process, you have to have something to keep you going.

The “why” is the motivation.

I wrote a post about why I’m writing. In retrospect, that was really about why I’m writing the first draft.

Now I’m digging into why I’m continuing with the process of revising and someday publishing the story.

And not just any story I write, but this story.

Why draft The Witch’s Legacy?

The reason I picked this story to write was simple: I didn’t have any idea of how to create a plot. This story was an extension of a book I read as a kid. It had a plot I could use. Or so I thought.

Turns out I didn’t use much of the plot at all. I did have to create my own plot. And through the 60-Day Novel Challenge, I did just that. I learned how and I did it.

And it’s not bad.

Why revise The Witch’s Legacy?

The story is about childhood friends who reconnect in adulthood.

It brings back together the imaginative and adventurous little girls after 40 years. It tells the story of adulthood challenges, aging parents and loss of self.

It’s analogous to my story of my childhood friendships and my experiences as an adult.

It’s magical.

It has magical items, but more importantly it has magical friendships. Friendships that are long-lasting and deep–the ones you only get from a shared history.