Have you ever scrapped a novel?

[ccarver30]

I am thinking about scrapping half of my first novel. The things I want to change would total reshape the book and it would be a very different story. Some scenes that I am fond of would be dumped for they wouldn't make any sense to keep.

Has anyone done this and did it work out for the better?? :poke:

[scarletpeaches]

I scrapped my first, 420-page, novel. Handwritten, so it worked out at about 150k words. Rewrote it from scratch, from memory. It was still crap. May edit it again some day.

Also I binned another handwritten draft - 288 pages - of another story which I may resurrect from memory some day.

But destroying them was a kind thing to do. It would have been fun to look back to those first attempts and see how my writing has improved, but other than that, they had no reason to exist. :D

[seun]

Not exactly. I wrote my first book about eight years ago. Two years ago, I went back to it with the idea of rewriting certain parts. After a week or so, I gave up and haven't been back to it. It was that bad.

The resulting book now has missing chapters and scenes that just end. I know what should go in those scenes but I have no urge to write them.

[swvaughn]

Yes, I have, and yes, it did.

The third novel in my thriller series, once I finished (all 400 pages of) it, bugged the crap out of me. I finally figured out that the plot was all wrong and tossed the whole thing. Started over. Got three-quarters through and realized that the other problem was the protag. I had the wrong guy.

Scrapped that too and started aaaaall over again, again, with a new protag and antag and a new plot (the same "world", though). The book is a thousand times better now.

I lost a lot of material that I loved, both times, but it was definitely worth it. I'd do it again. Save your original work that you cut; you might find a use for those lovely scenes later on. :D

Good luck!

(Oh, I know this may sound glib, but I don't mean it to. It really, really sucks to have to toss that much work. But in the end, if you feel the book will be better for it, you'll be so much happier with it... once you get through the suckage that is cutting massive chunks out.)

[glassquill]

Does my bottom drawer full of half-finished writing count? :D

The WIP I'm working on now was quite different when I first started out. Halfway through it, it fizzled out. Now, I've totally changed the focus of the entire thing and, fingers and toes crossed, it's been flowing well so far. So, for me, scrapping the original idea and starting almost from scratch has worked for the better.

Can't say it's an easy thing to do though. It's hard to take a chainsaw to the little darlings. :tongue

[CaroGirl]

I trunked my first novel, but I've never scrapped a large section, rewritten it, and had it work. Although I think such a thing could work. In fact, it might be just what some unpublished novels need.

[Cav Guy]

I've scrapped at least three...one dating back to 7th grade. I still have them all, but I don't know if I'll ever really go back to them. Two are quite dated (Cold War espionage stuff).

[justpat]

Almost every single one I ever wrote.

[JamieFord]

Scrap it. I'm sure your gut instinct is right.

I wrote and scrapped my first novel four times. I queried and had a few requests for the partial that only confirmed what I already knew––that it was craptastic.

I shelved it and wrote a completely different book, had 15 requests for the full, and landed an agent. It all worked out for the better.

[Jack Nog]

I've got three ranging from 19k words up to 72k words. It really pained me to do so, but I just didn't like the flow and story as much as I liked the "What If" idea. I may go back to those because I really enjoyed the topics.

But my current WIP, I've gotten about 70k, with an ending in site, and a great (my opinion of course) story and characters that feel to me fully real. I didn't have that with the others. I feel I have more emotional stake in this one as opposed to my earlier efforts. I also am not naive and realize I have a very long way to go :)

[Writer2011]

I've scrapped several novels---just can't seem to get anything going. I get started and then stop for no reason.

[Jersey Chick]

I scrapped an entire manuscript after finishing the first draft. When I was rereading it to edit, I realized there was no plot. It was a bunch of scenes connected by a lot of sex scenes. But no freakin' plot. I still don't know how I managed to write 400 pages of nothing.

I rewrote it using the hero, but the heroine changed and, lo and behold, the second first draft had a plot! Woo Hoo! Now I'm trying to weave a subplot into it as well. Now at least it's a real story :D

[Sassee]

I've gotten 20 single spaced pages into a WIP and abandoned it to start over. The result is my current WIP... a much better piece of creativity! The first version of my story was too depressing. I rewrote it to be more humorous, and now the current version is up to nearly 100 single spaced pages.

Were some of the scenes in the other one good? Yes. But I like the scenes in my new one better.

Start a new one and save your old stuff. You can always go back to it if you don't like your rewrite.

[VonShneer]

I have been bad... and scrapped much more than that... but i've recently taken up a vow (recently being like yesterday night) that no matter what I'll finish anything i start from now on. and I'll follow through with it!!!

[Willowmound]

Yes.

When it's wrong, scrap it. No writing is ever wasted.

My huge, now-dead novel taught me a lot. But in the end, it had so much baggage (I'd been at it for three years) there was no way it could soar. The story, the characters, the everything had somehow just got heavy.

I started something new, and some of the characters emigrated to the new project, some didn't. I'm more than half way toward the end of the first draft already, and I am so glad I gave the other one up when I did.

[ccarver30]

Scrap it. I'm sure your gut instinct is right.

I wrote and scrapped my first novel four times. I queried and had a few requests for the partial that only confirmed what I already knew––that it was craptastic.

I shelved it and wrote a completely different book, had 15 requests for the full, and landed an agent. It all worked out for the better.

This is kind of how I am feeling.

Thanks for all the responses, peeps! ::love::

[MidnightMuse]

In the past 4 months, I've scrapped a grand total of (about) 14k worth of WIP so that I could change direction and start again.

It's rare for me, very annoying, extremely frustrating, but exactly what needed to happen.

[ccarver30]

My ending is so predictable that it makes me want to smack myself. I know exactly where I would have to change everything and I might just do it... we'll see. In the meantime, I am writing the "sequel" to it and have found it much more appealing. I am hoping to possible marry these books. We'll see what happens!

P.S.
Thanks Jamie- I changed my signature because of your post LOL!

[janetbellinger]

I scrapped my first novel, but I still have traces of it stored ion a floppy disc in MultiMate format. That tells you how old it is. I've scrapped my next novel dozens of times, then rewritten it from scratch. I'm doing it again to the point I'm am rewritting it to change the focus onto a different character in the book.

[NeuroFizz]

I must be an exception--my trunk (and bottom drawer) is empty. My first story was pure crap. I made every "mistake" ever made by a newbie writer. But the story was good. So, I picked it up again after I finished another story and that pure crap story is now novel number two--it will launch in October.

[Sandy J]

There's a book sitting under my bed that equals about 115,000 words that will probably never see the light of day again. But to learn, you have to practice. That novel was my learning curve. :)

Trust your instincts. I've been in the middle of a story and realized I'd taken a wrong turn. As a result I've probably trash thousands and thousands of words. All for the better though when I got the story back on track.

[ClaudiaGray]

I've never scrapped one that I had started on in earnest, but I have had to let a couple of ideas die at the last stage before I start writing -- and this is after I've outlined a lot, done a bunch of research, etc. If it's not coming together there, for me at least, it's not coming at all.

I agree with what others are saying -- all writing is good experience, so if you know you have a better direction and focus now, don't hesitate to restructure and start again. What you did before will still inform what you do going-forward.

[ccarver30]

I just got my 12th rejection too. Wahoo!

[Will Lavender]

I've scrapped 7 or 8 beginnings or halves. I'd get up to 50 pages and then flag; then I'd get up to 75; then 100; then 150. When I finally got an entire novel written, I trunked it. Unsalvageable, really.

Jamie's advice is good. If your gut is telling you to cut it, then cut it.

[NeuroFizz]

I just got my 12th rejection too. Wahoo!
Greenhorn.

[Sandy J]

I just got my 12th rejection too. Wahoo!

I stopped counting at thirty. It was too depressing. :cry: Now I just shrug them off. Maybe one day it will be a, "YES!" for both of us.

[MelodyO]

So...it's not just me, then? :D

I'm facing the same decision even as we speak. I'm thinking of scrapping the entire beginning of novel and changing it so my two MC meet right away and start interacting. "Interacting" being a codeword for "lots of snarky UST".

My problem is that I'm in love with my own writing. It's funny and interesting, so why not write every detail of every move my characters make? Well, because nothing thrilling happens for the first eight chapters, which doesn't really cut it for a thriller. LOL! Which is why my WIP is an urban fantasy, with not one freaking serial killer in sight.

I would love to hear more about what you're doing with yours, if you ever want to share the details.

[WordGypsy]

Someone once said "The first million words are practice." I figure I've got to be getting close to that by now. I've rewritten my wip at least 4 times trying to get the pov right and then discovered some gastly secrets I didn't know about my mc. Made everything MUCH better. I'm at 38,000 now and still going. In the past I've trunked over 150 pages of bad writing. But I wouldn't be where I was if I didn't write them.

Wasn't it Stephan King who said, "Kill your darlings"? I always save a copy of the cut stuff in a separate folder. You'll be surprised how much you can rewrite and make fit in! Don't lose hope though, if you know it's bad cut it and keep writing.

[DamaNegra]

I've scrapped so many novels so many times I can almost be considered a muse serial killer...

[gem1122]

I was told by a few different writers and teachers that the apprenticeship for writers is about ten years. One of them told me that very few first novels are published. What gets dubbed as someone's 'debut' novel is actually their third or fourth go at it.

[swvaughn]

I must be an exception--my trunk (and bottom drawer) is empty. My first story was pure crap. I made every "mistake" ever made by a newbie writer. But the story was good. So, I picked it up again after I finished another story and that pure crap story is now novel number two--it will launch in October.

Showoff. :D

[NeuroFizz]

Showoff.
The point was (is) a good story with bad writing can be fixed. A bad story with either good writing or bad writing is a more difficult task, and maybe belongs in a trunk. I think everyone who has progressed on the learning curve of writing should re-visit their trunks and bottom drawers to see if the stories there are good ones, where the writing is the problem. Those dusty stories may be worth resurrecting.

And I am proud of what I've accomplished, even though I know I'm still a rookie with much to learn.

[swvaughn]

The point was (is) a good story with bad writing can be fixed. A bad story with either good writing or bad writing is a more difficult task, and maybe belongs in a trunk. I think everyone who has progressed on the learning curve of writing should re-visit their trunks and bottom drawers to see if the stories there are good ones, where the writing is the problem. Those dusty stories may be worth resurrecting.

And I am proud of what I've accomplished, even though I know I'm still a rookie with much to learn.

Aw, Neuro, I was just funnin' with you. (Hence the lunatic-grin emoticon) I'm sorry if I offended.

It is a good point. Once you get to the point in the writing craft where you can tell what makes a good story, you should go back and check out your older stuff.

Personally, the two novels I've trunked are not salvageable. I had no idea what made a story back then. But I've completely reworked an older novel that was a decent story and have passed it on to my agent -- so that one was worth all the ripping and tossing and hammering out.

So yeah, it's a good point. :)

ETA: Do you have emoticons turned off or something? I see my little green grinny guy didn't show up in the quote... :D

[NeuroFizz]

ETA: Do you have emoticons turned off or something? I see my little green grinny guy didn't show up in the quote...
No offense taken. And I detest emoticons, so I don't use them. Although yours is NOT a case in point, the smilies allow some people to get in a nasty dig and then patronize the target person with a "just kidding" smilie. In an anonymous medium like this, it's hard to catch a person's intention. If the smilies are not used, the intention will have to be conveyed with real words. More writers should try it (in my opinion).

Added in edit: the last statement wasn't direct at you, sw.

[justpat]

More writers should try it (in my opinion).

Good one. But you needed to include a smilie after that so we know you're kidding. [Insert Here: One emoticon to represent ironic humor]

[JoNightshade]

I was told by a few different writers and teachers that the apprenticeship for writers is about ten years. One of them told me that very few first novels are published. What gets dubbed as someone's 'debut' novel is actually their third or fourth go at it.

Ten years, huh? SWEET, I just hit that mark.

As for scrapping, not so much anymore-- but at the beginning I would frequently get halfway through a novel and then realize I was doing it all wrong. I'd start over from scratch two or three times. Now I might just have one or two false starts, but they rarely go over 10 pages before I realize I'm doing it wrong. Apparently I've gotten better. Whew! :)

[Sean D. Schaffer]

I am thinking about scrapping half of my first novel. The things I want to change would total reshape the book and it would be a very different story. Some scenes that I am fond of would be dumped for they wouldn't make any sense to keep.

Has anyone done this and did it work out for the better?? :poke:


I've done that with the novel I'm working on presently. Although I miss some of the portions of the old story, I like this new version much better.

I hope an agent will agree...

[Azure Skye]

I scrapped about 90% of my first book. With the leftovers, I wrote a new and improved book but I lost a character that I wanted so badly to keep. She'll show up later, somewhere.

[Feathers]

In my WIP i scrapped about half of the novel twice, and then THAT ending about twice more. I was utterly miserable every time I realized It was still a mess. But FINALLY *hallelujah chorus* I got what I wanted--and now my book is like a million times better.
Part of the problem was my antagonist had wrong motive (I even had to put a thread up about it!) and I kept re-writing the final conclusion to see why he would do what he was doing.
*sigh*

But at least now I love my ending.

[ccarver30]

In my WIP i scrapped about half of the novel twice, and then THAT ending about twice more. I was utterly miserable every time I realized It was still a mess. But FINALLY *hallelujah chorus* I got what I wanted--and now my book is like a million times better.
Part of the problem was my antagonist had wrong motive (I even had to put a thread up about it!) and I kept re-writing the final conclusion to see why he would do what he was doing.
*sigh*

But at least now I love my ending.

^^ That's what I am waiting for! My ending sucks @$$ !!!

[NicoleMD]

They indeed may need to be scrapped, but I'm sure the words were invaluable for getting to know your characters and world. Remember that when you cut, and it may feel a little less painful.

First drafts are like walking around naked. As beautiful or as hideous as it may be, there are always little bits and pieces you should make sure are covered up before venturing out into public.

:D

Nicole

[Stijn Hommes]

I never actually destroyed any of my writing, but I have shelved it or hidden it in a far away drawer.

[The_Grand_Duchess]

Check Carnival in my sig. Yeah, scrapped that one half way through.

I think the new version will be much better.

[FloVoyager]

My first novel is tucked away. I'm proud of it, even if there are some problems, so I don't want to trash it. Maybe someday I'll rework it. Who knows?

As for tossing parts of a WIP, I've cut and saved material in a separate file. Never know what you might be able to recycle later.

[lfraser]

I've asked myself the same question a hundred times in the past six months.

I'm still plugging away at my first novel attempt because I can -- finally -- see the ways in which my writing has improved. I'm interested enough in the story that I'll keep going, even though there have been times when I've had terribles urges to hit Delete and start something else. But it's all practice for me at this stage.

The thing is, this will be a trunk novel, and I know it. But it's getting to the end that's important to me, pushing past the procrastination and silly wanna-be writer's angst and getting another chapter written, or even just one page if that's all I can produce. I have enough half-written short stories already, and I feel horribly guilty about abandoning those poor characters. They were all in such dire straits when I stopped writing about them. I don't want half-written novels on my conscience, too.

[mscelina]

I wrote the first draft of my STBR novel when I was 17. Then I hid it in a trunk in my attic for twenty years. A few years ago I had to quit work due to a car accident (hurt my back fairly seriously). I couldn't sit or stand for long periods of time, so I bought a laptop and dragged out my *celina's writing is crud* trunk and the first thing I found? 618 pages of manually typed monstrosity. Just for something to do, I took that world and developed it, changing a lot of the characters and all of the plot, and started to write.

Now that first book is due to be released this summer, and the joke of it is that I kept writing on that world! I think I'm up to...er....8 books more or less? Yeah, nuts.

So, if your instinct is to scrap it then do so. Put, save it on a cd or a hard copy and put it somewhere that you can lay your hands on it again. Obviously there's a story there; time and distance from the first draft might help you to see how to pull it out.

Good luck.

[Tia Nevitt]

I am thinking about scrapping half of my first novel.
Has anyone done this and did it work out for the better?? :poke:

Yes. And I'm going to do it again to book 2 as soon as I finish book 3.

[gem1122]

I've shelved my first novel attempt. After revising it on and off for several years, and seeing it go through some major changes, it's beginning to look a bit like roadkill.

I love the story. I love the characters. I just don't know if I love them for the right reasons.

After I am done with my current WIP (and after it sells millions, of course), I hope to go back to my first novel and revive it. I also have what seems to be a decent idea for a third book.

[triceretops]

I tanked nine hand-written novels, and lost a bunch more.

Tri

[cooltouch]

I scrapped my first novel. About 120k words. Glad I did. It was a valuable experience for me, being able to complete such a project. And it was a good exercise in the craft, but when all was said and done, I wouldn't want to afflict that piece of work on anybody. Some things were just never intended to see the light of day . . .

Best,

Michael

[Shady Lane]

I'm not really sure what you mean by scrapped....here's a quick Shady timeline.

Book 1: September 2005. Finished, totally not pursuing publication for this one.

Book 2: November 2005. Stopped writing about 8,000 words in, when it didn't quite click.

Book 3: January 2006. Finished. TOTALLY not pursuing publication.

Book 4: May 2006. Finished. This is The Sublime, the one that's coming out in September.

Book 5: December 2006. Finished. Not pursuing publication, though I might in the future if I stop thinking it's total trash.

Book 6: May 2007. Finished, queries are out on it currently.

Book 7: Working on it now.

[eliflauta]

I am thinking about scrapping half of my first novel. The things I want to change would total reshape the book and it would be a very different story. Some scenes that I am fond of would be dumped for they wouldn't make any sense to keep.

Has anyone done this and did it work out for the better?? :poke:

Yup; twice. On my first novel, I had just gotten to page 50, and suddenly went blank. I couldn't think of anything for six months. There was no way around the fact that the plot was a complete dead end. So, I scrapped almost the entire thing, but then I wrote a short story (10 pages-ish) using those characters in the same setting. It worked much better as a short story, even though the reason for many actions were different than they had been in the long version. The second time, it was my third novel attempt and I made it to page 118 before I tossed it. In my next try I borrowed some of the ideas and scenes, but, regrettably in some cases, I allowed the characters to fade away. I still have it saved on my computer, but I won't look at it until I'm absolutely stuck and need to find more ideas to steal from myself. Scrapping a WIP isn't a bad thing, because it can often be recycled. At the very least, it releases you from a project you're not really enjoying.

[Namatu]

I'm supposed to be finishing my WIP, but instead I'm now rewriting it. You may have written The End, but that doesn't mean it's done. If you have new ideas, if you want to try new things, save a new version and try it. If you like it better, great! If not, good writing exercises.

[Willowmound]

You may have written The End, but that doesn't mean it's done.

No, it means you have finished first draft.

[Danger Jane]

I scrapped my first two novels...written when I was about twelve and fifteen. Didn't finish the first, finished the first draft anyway of the second...actually that was more like a third draft...and realized it was just crappy and not worth saving.

So I wrote a lot of short stories and a novella and now I'm thinking my WIP is three such novellas woven into one story (don't ask how I'm going to do this...not sure yet). The first I've written the first draft of and am well into editing. The second is on its fourth try; this time I'm going to get it. The third is still being very brainstormed.

Scrapping was cleansing for my soul.

[Southern_girl29]

I wrote my first novel (actually, I thought it was a novel, but it was more of a novella) when I was a freshman in high school. It was handwritten, and I have no clue where it is. I think it probably was thrown out.

I finished my second one when I was 20. It was crap, although I am proud that I actually finished it. I have it on a disk, but I no longer have the word processing program I used to write it. I may go back to the idea someday, because I really liked it.

I finished my third when I was 24. It's not crap, but it's not good either. It needs a lot of work to ever be publishable. However, it has quite a few autobiographical touches in it, and I think I wrote it to heal some wounds. It did that, so if it's never published, it's ok.

I didn't write anything, except for the features and stuff I write for work here at the newspaper, for over three years. I had PPD, and I just couldn't write. I started back last September. I wrote about 60,000 words of a novel and just stopped. I knew it wasn't good. It had too many sub-plots, too much melodrama, etc. So, I quit. Its on my computer and a disk. I might go back to it sometime, but I don't know.

In between December of last year and March of this year, I wrote some short stories and some feature articles. I read a lot and decided I wanted to try my hand at a young adult book. I love YA and middle grade. So, in March, I started Psychic Straits. I wrote it in a little over a month. It came in at about 63,000 words. After reading over it, I realized I needed to cut out some of the infodumps and back story, and I cut about 3,000. Its in a file of its own. I'm keeping it because I might need it at another time.