Should I start a new novel or re-write this one?

[WritingChick]

Hi everyone,

I wrote this romance novel but the intro is too slow and the characters don't seem real. For example, a guy cheats on his wife...he's pretty poor and ends up having an affair with a very well off women, not realistic, is it? Should I try to re-write this one or trash it and start a new fresh one? Thanks :)

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[EGGammon]

Why CAN'T it be realistic? A true writer thinks of an idea and MAKES it realistic, no matter how insane it may sound. But, the bottom line is, if you aren't happy with it, then either rewrite it or toss it. EVERYTHING I currently write, I love. If I didn't love what I wrote, then what's the point of trying to get it released? If YOU the WRITER don't believe in or like the story, why should anyone else?

[James D Macdonald]

Do both. Rewrite this one and start another.

If the intro is slow: Cut it. If the characters don't seem real: Make them real.

Is this work? Yes.

[Azura Skye]

Keep it, work on it or make it work.

[Nateskate]

Guns and bullets seem to get things going. My guess is that the best romances don't have to have a romantic intro, just an interesting one.

The premise is fine if it is well done. Most romances are formulaic. In fact, you can find some links to "How to write a romance", and they will tell you qualities that the hero must possess...etc.

[ChunkyC]

Like Uncle Jim sez, find the spot where something exciting/intriguing starts and cut everything before that. Then look through what you cut and keep anything worthwhile and find a way to add it in to the body of the story.

Also -- poor guy having an affair with a rich woman? Why not? Analyze your rich woman. What does she need that she's aware of, or subconsciously aware of? Find a way that your poor guy can provide that for her. Cliche example: her husband/boyfriend is an egg-timer in bed, whereas Poor Guy turns out to have the equipment and skills of a porn star and can breathe through his ears. ;)

[WritingChick]

Whoa, the skills of a porn star, interesting lol

[STORMTURNER]

Happens all the time. Your story is very popular in the wake of poor men leaving their wives/lives for rich women. Take Mr. Brittney Spears-Fedderline (sp). Too recent? How's about Mr. Whitney Houston-Brown? There's plenty of them.

[WritingChick]

Britany and that guy, that's right... Do you think it's too common then, like ppl are sick of it?

[maestrowork]

It's not far-fetched (look at Julia Roberts...) Just make it work.

[WritingChick]

Okay, thanks :)

[Will Abrahams]

Writing chick.........You say:

"he's pretty poor and ends up having an affair with a very well off women, not realistic, is it?"

You bet it's realistic. It happens quite often. But it isn't so common no one would want to read a well crafted rendition of the theme. There is so much potential there for a truly great story.

Put the story away for three months. Go back and read it. Put it away and spend a week with an empty notebook writing "what if's" and other brainstorming techniques.

Best wishes for pulling it off in spades.

Will

[WritingChick]

There is a lot of possiblites with twists and turns, thanks :)

[MarthaOConnor]

I agree with the comments above that a rich woman could DEFINITELY go for a poor guy. Maybe he listens to her and her husband is far too busy with his all-consuming career. Maybe he's funny and her husband is stodgy and boring. I really like this premise, but you need to explore your characters and see WHY she's attracted to him.

Work on it a bit and see what happens. Yes, writing is work, and often you need to pound through some rough spots to turn it into something wonderful.

But if you've tried and tried and TRIED and TRIED to make it work, and you still hate it--put it aside. Note that I am NOT saying to give it up or burn it. Just... FILE it. It's not going to disappear into some alternate universe if you file it away for awhile. I've done that before. Sometimes starting a new project is the right thing to do if you really can't find a way to interest yourself again. Because this is supposed to be FUN, right?

Good luck,
Martha :)

[preyer]

i believe writing is like anything else, you've got to practice at it. assuming you're not some wunderkind at writing, remember that it's important to write bad stories, too. hey, some would say that's all *i* write, heh heh. not saying yours is bad, haven't a clue, just saying that even if it is, finish it anyway. you have to get the bad stuff out of your system.

is your scenario common? not knowing a lot of wealthy people, i couldn't say. it's probably like anything else, humans invite drama into their lives by virtue of ignorance, stupidity, lust, greed and selfishness. rich people aren't special in this case: indeed, part of the premise behind why my WIP characters have so much drama is because they're rich and bored and have nothing better to do than play mind games on each other. and where there's drama, there's sex, so, yeah, totally plausible to me.

i think it's okay to second-guess yourself... to a point. correct me if i'm wrong, but are any of us such a genius that we defy every convention and yet still make a brilliant story? from oaters to bodice-rippers to a rag-tag band of fantasy character out to save the world from the darkest evil the world has ever seen, again, whatever we do has probably already been done in some form or another, so don't worry about being 100% original unless you enjoy migraines. so, as long as the market isn't saturated, as long as you do a good story, it should stand on its own merits and be entertaining enough for *someone* to give it a read, eh?

you're always going to find someone who says 'it's been done,' or 'wasn't that in the news a few years back?' stay away from cliches and predictability and even the old work-horses of storytelling can be made into something good to read.

[anatole ghio]

"I wrote this romance novel but the intro is too slow and the characters don't seem real. For example, a guy cheats on his wife...he's pretty poor and ends up having an affair with a very well off women, not realistic, is it? Should I try to re-write this one or trash it and start a new fresh one?"

Agree with everyone else... you didn't find the true start of your novel, that's why it's too slow. Eliminate everything that doesn't immediately pull the reader into the start of the narrative. Once you find the first scene that begins the backbone of your plot, you have the start of the novel.

Characters don't seem real? They are probably one or two dimensional. The down and dirty way to introduce depth is to introduce an internal contradiction.

Brave adventurer that is scared of snakes (Indiana Jones).
Serial killer that is an accomplished gourmet and into culture (Hannibal Lecter).

Also try introducing some secondary characters that will be a contrast to the main ones, this will also add depth to them.

- Anatole

Hey, how do I quote the post that I am replying to internally, rather than having to cut and paste the quote myself?