{"id":902,"date":"2025-09-11T12:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T18:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/?p=902"},"modified":"2025-08-19T14:41:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:41:05","slug":"the-kink-is-in-the-rewrite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/2025\/09\/11\/the-kink-is-in-the-rewrite\/","title":{"rendered":"The kink is in the rewrite (and I like it rough)"},"content":{"rendered":"
2 – 4 minutos<\/div>\n\n\n

First drafts are like bad one-night stands. Fast, messy, and often disappointing. They’re the foreplay to what we really came (wink) here for: the rewrite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That<\/em>‘s where the magic happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve never trusted a clean first draft. If it comes too easy, I start asking questions. Where’s the tension? The bite? The sweet ache of tearing it apart just to stitch it back together? Drafting is cute. But revising? That’s dirty work. And I like getting my hands dirty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

First drafts are just the tease<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First drafts are like that wide-eyed, eager-to-please ex who kept asking “Is this okay?”<\/em> It’s trying its best \u2014 bless its heart \u2014 but it’s not the one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That first version of a sentence, a scene, the whole thing is pure vanilla. No spice, no edge, not even bite marks. It’s only once you’ve looked it in the eye and said, “You can do better,”<\/em> that things start getting interesting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

The rewrite is where I become a dominatrix<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rewriting is not for the faint of heart. You have to be a little cruel, even to yourself. You have to know when to cut what you loved, when to tighten what’s loose, and when to slap a paragraph ’till it’s red and can’t sit down for a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days I feel like cracking the whip on my draft until it begs to be rewritten. Other days, I’m on my knees begging the story to cooperate. It’s a power exchange, baby.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

A sweet spot between pain and pleasure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There’s a moment, somewhere between draft four and six, where it stops hurting and starts feeling so good<\/em>. The sentences start to smile. The plot tightens like a corset (and another canal I know). The dialogue bites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You realize you’ve taken something flaccid and made it throb with life. That’s not just editing. That’s art. And other things. Isn’t that the ultimate kink?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Tense play turns me on<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been writing Hel on Earth<\/em> for who knows how long \u2014 it’s the fiery, filthy continuation to “Ravishing Disaster” from Miniature Novels I<\/a><\/em> \u2014 in past tense originally. And for a while, it worked. It had that classic, cinematic vibe that I was going for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But something was missing. The candle wax wasn’t burning my chest enough. It felt… remembered<\/em> instead of lived<\/em>. And if I’m going to write about someone unraveling in real time, I want the language to sting like a slap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I did the unthinkable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I rewrote the whole fucking thing. In present tense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Line by line. Scene by scene. I ripped the verbs out of their cozy little past-tense beds and dragged them screaming into the now<\/em>. Because Hel on Earth<\/em> isn’t supposed to feel like a bedtime story. It’s a descent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, trust me, you want to be there as it’s happening. Hopefully soon. Maybe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Why I keep coming back for more like a desperate ex who hasn’t had a proper orgasm in months<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don’t write because it’s easy. I write because I’m obsessed with transformation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the idea of wrestling with language, pinning it down, and maybe even choking it a little. There’s a beauty in falling in love with the same idea all over again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve accepted that the first draft is foreplay. And the real fun starts with a red pen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So go ahead, get rough with your work. Rewrite it. And again. And again until it feels orgasmic. You’ll know you’ve got it right when it leaves you breathless. Maybe even after a couple of rounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u2014 Montse<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First drafts are unrefined and inadequate; rewriting transforms them into art through a process of intense, often painful, revision that ignites creativity.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":134972872,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23245748,63377],"tags":[7223,7758714,178,1747,8053601,3330,349],"class_list":["post-902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-confessions-of-a-writer","category-the-writing-life","tag-author","tag-bookish-thoughts","tag-books","tag-fiction","tag-indie-author","tag-publishing","tag-writing"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfZGWd-ey","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2589,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/2026\/08\/04\/no-one-is-qualified-to-start-a-novel\/","url_meta":{"origin":902,"position":0},"title":"No one is qualified to start a novel","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"agosto 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Writing begins with hope and confidence, but often leads to self-doubt and struggle throughout the creative process.","rel":"","context":"En "Behind the Drafts"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Drafts","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/category\/the-writing-life\/behind-the-drafts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2758,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/2026\/09\/15\/writing-letters-to-myself\/","url_meta":{"origin":902,"position":1},"title":"Writing letters to myself","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"septiembre 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Finding your voice in writing involves listening to yourself, exploring unexpressed feelings, and creating honest narratives that connect with others' experiences.","rel":"","context":"En "Behind the Drafts"","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Drafts","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/category\/the-writing-life\/behind-the-drafts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1031,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/2025\/10\/02\/every-draft-is-a-striptease-of-my-mental-state\/","url_meta":{"origin":902,"position":2},"title":"Every draft is a striptease of my mental state","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"octubre 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Writing a draft is a personal journey, revealing layers from polite beginnings to chaotic honesty, culminating in an intimate, raw display of vulnerability and creative expression.","rel":"","context":"En "Bold Banter"","block_context":{"text":"Bold Banter","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/category\/pen-punch\/bold-banter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2293,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/2026\/05\/21\/you-either-defend-your-work-or-watch-it-get-eaten-alive\/","url_meta":{"origin":902,"position":3},"title":"You either defend your work or watch it get eaten alive","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"mayo 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Confidence in your writing influences others\u2019 perceptions; embrace your work's value to avoid hesitation and allow personal growth through feedback.","rel":"","context":"En "Bold Banter"","block_context":{"text":"Bold Banter","link":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/category\/pen-punch\/bold-banter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2392,"url":"https:\/\/mbnovels.com\/es\/2026\/06\/25\/no-one-warned-me-the-story-would-be-about-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":902,"position":4},"title":"No one warned me the story would be about me","author":"Montse \"M.B\" Benavides","date":"junio 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Every writer eventually receives some variation of the same advice: write what you know. 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