Best Laid Plans, Part II

So, the long weekend is over. Hubby is back from his trip and now life can get back to normal. I got a bunch of cleaning done, went to my dentist appointment (on the right day), sat with d-i-l a little just because we both needed it, went to the family outing, and even managed to get some actual writing work done.

Over a hundred pages of editing and rewriting to be exact. When I complained to one of my friends that I was having a difficult time taking the "journey" out of the story, she told me to be extreme. Take the whole thing out and rewrite from there. Except that means going back to chapter one in a 400 page story. But I tried. Unfortunately, it wasn't going well. And now I think I figured out why. I am trying to force this story into a genre it wasn't originally intended for. I wrote it as a fantasy with romantic elements. The publisher wants it to be a romantic fantasy.
What's the difference, you ask? A lot. In the first, the story is about the heroine and her journey, both the physical one and the emotional/psychic one. It is about her learning how to use her powers for the good of all and how not to fall into the abuse of power that is a slip over to the (if you'll forgive me, Mr. Lucas) dark side. A romantic fantasy focuses on the relationship between the hero and heroine. It is more about "them" than "her" and the fantasy part of the story is secondary.

So now, I go back and rewrite again. And if that means missing the sale, so be it. The story is what it is - a fantasy first and foremost.

Does that make me a diva? Some would say so because I'm not writing what the publisher wanted me to. In actuality, I am more than willing to make changes. I'll make changes all over the place. But I am unwilling to completely rewrite all 400 pages into a different genre. Why?

Because that's another story. And I've already got ideas for that one. :)