Quote Originally Posted by Razor7826 View Post
When there are this many editing remarks, do you normally suggest a full rewrite, or a triage of the existing version?
That depends on you. I have a writing friend who found himself relieved when a chapter of his work was deleted by accident. He knew what he wanted to say, but felt he'd fallen short of his goal. Starting with a blank page was just what he needed.

As for me, I search through my work to see if there are choice phrases I want to keep. For example,

Exhausted, Epithymia fell backwards onto the cold stone floor and took a moments rest, savoring both the physical and emotional pleasure of her triumph."
I like that line, so I'd keep it.

Technical errors and faux pas aside, are there any parts that were pretty good that are not worth completely rewriting?
Yes, there are quite a few.

This is a very nice bit of background which requires a few minor edits. Again, keep it. However, you might want to consider moving it closer to the introduction, so when you leap into the action, you can keep us there.

Life as the queen of an empire was every bit as thrilling as she had hoped. In her four short years since seizing power, five surrounding nations had fallen, further fueling both her war machine and dark desires. Even now, in a time brief period of relative peace, there was still a fresh load of criminals to condemn. Furthermore, research on the Great Seal was finally making headway. The Queen was hot with anticipation toward seeing what was on the other side of the The Veil. She wondered terrible beings she would find there to help fulfill her goal of world domination.
While you are working on the assignment, ask yourself a few questions:

Do you like reading in third person with the POV of one character?
Are you enjoying this writing style?
Why or why not?
What are you finding difficult and how can you make adjustments?

Feel free to answer the questions in this thread.

For example, when I began writing in first person present tense for role playing, it drove me crazy. I'm more confident with the style, yet I don't prefer using it. Since, my goal is often to practice for writing work I intend to publish, using that style conflict with my goal and my intent. I've chosen to use present tense for very few projects.

Many book publishers ask for third person with the POV of one character either throughout the book, or for each chapter. If you want to submit work to them, you must conform to their style.

And that gets back to one of my goals of this level, to prepare you for the next step in a possible writing career. Whether you are seeking to make money, give away your work for free, or keep it among close friends, trying out different styles will help you determine what you prefer and what you choose to avoid.

Ruby