Bitter Confessions Rewrite Update
“Every weakness I uncovered, I used to bind you to me. Whatever your family wouldn’t give you, I did. I gave you my time and attention and encouraged your dreams of being a writer. Baldwin was so sure of himself, he didn’t even bother to seduce you, so I did. I always intended for our affair to be discovered.”
“You…” She was so astounded, she couldn’t articulate the question that had plagued her for years.
His face set in uncompromising lines. “I had no intention of letting you keep me a dirty secret.”
Bitter Confessions Excerpt
© 2024 Mia Knight. All Rights Reserved.
In April, I didn’t get as far as I hoped in rewrites. I got bogged down in the beginning, which is a 7 chapter scene that nearly fucking killed me. This is where Roth and Jasmine discuss E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G and is partially responsible for the book’s title.
You would think that after 20+ published books (under various names) that I would know how much time I need for rewrites. But, each book/project is different, and it gets tricky the further you go into a series because of the continuity, and in this case, choosing when to give certain info (and whether you’re giving too much/too little). The beginning required major restructuring, a dialogue overhaul, and more fleshing out. This basically added a chapter’s worth of material where I expanded on some topics I briefly touched on in the first draft… and added a sex scene. 👀
I knew that the beginning of the book would get some reaction considering the “confessions” being spilled, but I had no idea the hubbub it would really cause, with some snippets getting over 100 comments. 😳🫣😬
I, uh, don’t participate in the comments because most of the questions will be answered within the course of the story and since I’m chapters ahead, it would mean constantly circling back to work I’ve already raked over countless times. I’d never make any progress that way so I leave the comment section to the readers to debate, freak out, and curse me to high heaven. 🤣 And, what they’re reading is still the raw draft, so some of the details and lines may not make it to the final so… Read the raw draft at your peril on Patreon. 😁 I post 1k word snippets 4x a week and will continue posting until the book publishes!
Rewriting is insanely tedious, but always worth it. During the first draft, you're laying down intriguing ideas and topics. On the second and third passes, you're nixing unnecessary things or giving more dimension and perspective. It takes so much time, but the difference is massive. Roth and Jasmine took different stances on certain topics in the rewrites that took me by surprise and changed the course of a lot of conversations. At the time, I wondered if I was going off course, but the final result (as usual) was better than the original because it was more complete, thought out, and more realistic (in my opinion). I also leaned into some uncomfortable topics, which I kind of skirted in the original (I hadn’t made a decision whether or not I wanted to go there). These rewrites will affect details and actions in subsequent chapters, so I definitely have my work cut out for me!
I already added so much more than I intended, which makes me wonder if this book will be close to Bitter Secrets 135k word count. I'm over 120k words, and I'm just 1/3 into rewrites! 😬 I know there was a ton to add in the last quarter of the book, so… Yikes! We’ll see what the final word count is!
I’m hoping to pick up the pace in the middle, which isn’t so volatile and emotionally draining. I’m getting there, guys! Hang in there! I still don’t have a release date, but I will keep you updated on my progress. I hope I do insane damage in May! Wish me luck.
Drop book recommendations for books with similar vibes to the Singed Series to pass the time until the release!