Letting Go
One of the biggest problems a writer faces when editing, especially during the re-write stage, is letting go of characters, words or plot points that no longer fit the story.
It doesn't really matter whether you outline or not in this case. As you write you get ideas, they seem like great ideas at the time - maybe a funny joke, or an odd way of saying something, or a new character just jumps out a you begging to be written about. Like most writers, you add it in and keep plugging along. But sooner or later you realize this idea isn't working well. What do you do?
Option 1:
Start making changes to the story so this new idea fits. You decide to do what ever it takes to make it fit.
Option 2:
You let it go. Take the path of least resistence.
Which option is the better one? Option 1 definitely makes things harder. Once you start changing a story, and these ideas usually require a lot of changes, you may be causing all kinds of unforseen problems. If you are trying to make something fit it probably doesn't belong. Most likely it doesn't move the plot forward or reveal character.
Ask yourself why you want this idea to be included?
Is it really worth it?
Is there a way to use the essence of the idea but still keep the integrity of the story?
You know when something just doesn't fit. Save yourself some time and headache and just jot it down on an index card. Save it for the next story.
If you are having a hard time with this idea, your readers and editor will have a hard time with it too.
It doesn't really matter whether you outline or not in this case. As you write you get ideas, they seem like great ideas at the time - maybe a funny joke, or an odd way of saying something, or a new character just jumps out a you begging to be written about. Like most writers, you add it in and keep plugging along. But sooner or later you realize this idea isn't working well. What do you do?
Option 1:
Start making changes to the story so this new idea fits. You decide to do what ever it takes to make it fit.
Option 2:
You let it go. Take the path of least resistence.
Which option is the better one? Option 1 definitely makes things harder. Once you start changing a story, and these ideas usually require a lot of changes, you may be causing all kinds of unforseen problems. If you are trying to make something fit it probably doesn't belong. Most likely it doesn't move the plot forward or reveal character.
Ask yourself why you want this idea to be included?
Is it really worth it?
Is there a way to use the essence of the idea but still keep the integrity of the story?
You know when something just doesn't fit. Save yourself some time and headache and just jot it down on an index card. Save it for the next story.
If you are having a hard time with this idea, your readers and editor will have a hard time with it too.
posted by Victoria at 9:16 AM
1 Comments:
Ohhhh, painful, painful painful!!! I've lovingly crafted scenes which I really like and as I've written more of the story I realise they really don't fit anymore. Sometimes the story changes and what's happened in the scene is no longer relevant or it just distracts from the main story or there's just no real justification to have it in. I always keep them though and sometimes read them wistfully....
Ah well. At least I've had the enjoyment of writing them, and hopefully learning more about writing from them, even if no-one else is going to read them. (sniff)
Hope
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