12 January 2015

Scrapping the Last Ten Chapters

I know most people have what they call an "aha" moment, but I had a "holy crap!" moment. And it is both exciting and terrifying.

I've known for a while now that I needed to change a lot in the last third or so of my book. I just had no idea how to actually change it. It's really hard when you've spent a few years and more than one draft with all of the moments in the story being pretty much the same. It's difficult to picture another way to write it, or different scenes to replace the ones you know aren't working.

Well, last night I finally had a breakthrough. I was actually just trying to brainstorm one of the subplots, and I thought of something that worked, but then the scene I was picturing kept going and ended up in the main plot's territory. I just let the idea run free to see where it would take me. And then suddenly things were happening that I did not expect.

My first thought was, "HOLY CRAP," followed by a "Nooooooooooo." Because I knew instantly that what I had imagined was absolutely perfect. But it was going to change everything.

I always knew I was going to need to basically scrap the last ten chapters and start from scratch, maybe saving a moment here or there that still worked. But this new scene I imagined makes most of those chapters unusable. My characters' whole relationship has to change after this moment, in a way I never imagined, or even would have considered to be possible way back when this was just a short story. But I've spent so much time with this story that I know this change feels right. It's just going to be a lot of work.

I finally feel like I'm on to something. I have no idea right now what will actually happen after this particular moment in order to lead the story to its end, but I think I can figure it out. Sometimes change can be terrifying, but it can also be a lot of fun. There's nothing quite like that feeling when all of the pieces start to fall into place.

22 comments:

  1. You know what, even though you have to do a lot of work by redoing the last ten chapters, it'll all be worth it in the end. I rewrote a series. It took years but it was the best thing i ever did! :)

    I'm so happy that you figured out the solution to fix your book. Yay!

    Writing About: A Foot Chase
    So You Want to Write Romance

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  2. You're right - that moment when all those story pieces fall into place is exhilarating. Keep going with it! You can do it!

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  3. It's no fun to chuck something you've been working on for a long time, but if your new vision for the story is better, you have to. Good luck.

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  4. I lost so many of my favorite scenes in the last few drafts. The last one almost broke my spirit, but it was necessary. Glad you're getting things moving again!

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  5. Words written are never wasted -- if nothing else, they serve at whetstones to hone the next words you will eventually write.

    But you gotta follow your gut on this one. Which would you really want: A book that you think is the best you can write that comes out after months of rework, or one that is "meh" but you have almost done now?

    I've purged and redone a LOT of writing of former WIPs, and ultimately even tossed them in drawers as not redeemable. So in one respect, the fact that I've not released one of my "finished" novels is disheartening, but in the long run, I HAD to go through all those iterations of crap writing in order to refine my craft enough to the point where I think my current WIP may actually become an acceptable WTIAF! (Work That I've Actually Finished!)

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  6. Woot! Run with it! Run with it with all the wind of the writing furies in your wings!

    Best of luck, and I hope it works out well. :)

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  7. Gotta strike while the iron is hot!

    Glad you didn't fall in love with "your pretties" too much. That's a great thing. Every word we write is up on the chopping block. Nothing's safe.

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  8. Definitely a good thing. Annoying, but still good.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  9. That moment when everything changes...I love and hate those moments so much. I have a few scenes that didn't survive the big cut that I'm devastated to have lost. But the story will be better for it.

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  10. Glad you had a breakthrough, it's disheartening to lose chapters but more so to be floundering with no idea what to do. It'll all work out, you're on the homestretch!

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  11. I hate/love it when that happens to me. You'll be able to use some of that writing. If not in this book, in another one. And if not, consider it practice. Good luck and congrats on that epiphany.

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  12. It definitely takes courage to let go of ten chapters; I always end up writing too much and want to keep everything. But I know that that's not always the best choice, which is why I have an "extras" file (I heard about it from another writer) where I put the deleted content in it. That way I don't actually have to let go of the chapters, and maybe there'll be something in there that I can use in a future story. So maybe you could put those ten chapters you took out in a separate file and possibly save them for future brainstorming sessions on other stories, if you want.

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  13. It's awesome when the pieces fall into place. Good luck! :)

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  14. Wow and oh my goshhhhhhhhhh!!! Please let us know how it goes!!!

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  15. I've done this, and it was scary but awesome when I finished. I deleted 25,000 words from the end of my book and basically started over. You can do it!!

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  16. You are not a lone. And I bet you'll have fun with the rewrite. I scrapped the whole first third of a novel and changed the POV when I realized more than half way through it just wasn't working for me. When I did, the story flowed. It was a beautiful thing.

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  17. It's scary, but if it makes for a better story...
    The pieces fell into place - now run with it!

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  18. Aaargh I know that feeling! The joy of making the connection vs the pain of having to do reams of re-writing. I started a novel and got stuck halfway through. I shelved it and plan on pulling it out and reading it over in a month or two. Hopefully a fresh perspective will move things along, but I have a sinking suspicious that I'm going to have to scrap at least a few chapters. Oh well, that's the nature of the writing beast! I wish you luck on the new path!

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  19. Scary, yes, but right! You know it in your gut, and since you do, the writing will be that much easier. Now go for it!

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  20. I read your title and literally said, "Ouch." Nonetheless, I'm happy for you. I love that moment when it really comes together and you're slathering pure magic onto the page. We live for that, right? (And dread all the revisions that follow...) I'm sending cheese to get you through the rewrites, but yay! I'm also excited for you.

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  21. These are the ropes sometimes, but it will make everything work out in the end. :)

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  22. Definitely scrap anything that gets in the way. But keep those ten chapters in a separate file, even if you don't use them in the novel. You never know.

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