Going Backwards

[zeprosnepsid]

Hi all, I usually post over in the Non-Fiction forum, but while I'm waiting to hear back about my queries, I've had an unquenchable desire to go back to my Young Adult novel that I started writing quite some time ago.

One of the reasons I stopped writing this novel is that it started going off in a bad direction. I think the first several chapters are great and occassionally show them to people, but the work I did after that is subpar.

So, I'm going to finally do it. I'm going to just throw out those last few crappy chapters and go on from there. It feels so weird to throw out a couple chapters and go backwards and start from there. But sometimes it needs to be done.

Anyone every had to throw out a good chunk and try over? I think it's really tough to do!

[Stephanie]

Maybe you can use the content another time - don't toss, just put aside...

And best of luck!

[sthrnwriter]

Yeah I hate having throw out hard work but then again sometimes it is necessary. I do, however, hold on to it for a little while before actually deleting it or throwing in the trash. Sometimes when I come to a dead end on a project it inspires me for a new one later on. But think of it like this. At least your only throwing out a few chapters and not the whole thing.

[zeprosnepsid]

i've been working on the story today and I think it's good to throw it out. Not only because it's not good, but because the main part of the story really needs to get started. It's YA, so I want to keep it down to 40,000 and when I cut out that other stuff it's still 10,000 -- that's a 1/4 of the story and it's mostly build up. So I'm not going to try to rewrite the cut scenes, instead, I really need to move the story along. I think it's for the best in a lot of ways.

and yes, i will not throw it out completely. I just started a new file with a new draft number and all that stuff will still exist in the old draft. Maybe I can use it someday.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[JuliePgh]

I've thrown out large chunks before, and when I hesitate I remind myself one thing... whatever I write to replace it is always SO MUCH BETTER! Don't hesitate, just do it (keep in another file in case you want to use chunks later), then write and enjoy the new paths you discover. good luck!

[JoeEkaitis]

And then there's the killer line you took out in editing that you hope you'll be able to use somewhere else, maybe even in another story:


"Cute kid."

"Cute like a crocodile with a mouthful of Bambi."