Have you ever scrapped a novel?

ccarver30 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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.

seun · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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.

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

Almost every single one I ever wrote.

JamieFord · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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

Jersey Chick · Jun 14, 2007

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

Sassee · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

JamieFord said:
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! :

:

MidnightMuse · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

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.

Claudia Gray · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

I just got my 12th rejection too. Wahoo!

Will Lavender · Jun 14, 2007

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 · Jun 14, 2007

ccarver30 said:
I just got my 12th rejection too. Wahoo!

Greenhorn.

Have you ever scrapped a novel?

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