Characters are better in the end

Spring break is over and it's back to work and school for most of my family. I say most because two of my three kids still have one week left to do as they wish due to the year-round schedule their school uses. However, without going into too many details, I will get some time this week to work on my rewrites for book #3.

After reading only four chapters of the book, I realized changes were necessary. Here's the reason why. When I sit down to write a book, I begin with some characters in mind. These characters are even outlined in separate files. In these files, I type out their quirks, flaws, who they love, who they despise, etc. It isn't until I get to the heart of the story though that I really know these fictional people, and usually they change somewhat or almost entirely from what I initially envisioned. So, after completing a manuscript, a character in the beginning doesn't always match up with the character in the end, which means more work for me. But since I know my characters very well by the end, I also usually know what changes to make in the beginning. I know how a character will react in situations. I know what tone of voice he or she will use. Just like I know what my spouse is going to say before he says it. I just know.

Today I'll hopefully fix up the first four chapters and be able to move on. At the moment, I have the manuscript divided into approximately 40 chapters, which means this rewrite might take longer than anticipated. Isn't that the truth about everything?