I have a current work-in-progress (WIP) that I can quite honestly say might not have a single sentence left from its original version. And, yes, I exaggerate on occasion—what writer doesn’t?—but, no, I’m not in this instance.

So, how the heck is that even possible, you ask? Quite easy: it’s seen four—count ‘em, four—major re-writes. I’m not talking simple edits where a scene is removed here, another added over there. I’m talking axing over half the content and starting from the ground up. Over and over and over again.