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[MaggieW]

Hello all. I've been away from AbsoluteChaos for a few years now, and fanfic in general. But a class on fanfiction at a recent writer's workshop held at my university is drawing me back. I've gone back through an old flash drive that had a lot of my writing on it (though some has disappeared), and I've gone back and read some of my old work.

Yikes... 

Have you ever re-read some of your old fanfic and thought to yourself "Yuck. I wrote that? and worse, I posted it?"

So... I'm considering doing a major rewrite of what I've posted. Have you ever gone through that? Made that decision?

[Sakabelle]

a class on fanfiction

Ummm first of all I need to take this class lol.

Anyway, the answer to your original question is yes. But I feel like that's a good thing because it means that you've grown as a writer.

I don't think I've ever re-written anything though. I usually just take what I've learned and moved on to the next idea I'm working on. I just try to make each fic better than the last one.

[RokofAges75]

Welcome back, Maggie!  I agree with Steph - a class on fanfiction sounds amazing!

I have definitely had those thoughts when looking back at some of my old stories, but I leave them up in their original state so I can see the improvement I've made since writing them.  Like Steph said, it's a good way to see growth.

I have only tried rewriting a story once, and it was a terrible experience.  I got burnt out, and I don't think the story really got all that much better.  It just ended up killing any inspiration I had to keep writing it, and so neither version got finished.

Instead of rewriting old stories, I tend to recycle certain aspects of their storylines in new stories and improving on them.  It's fun to see how much better I can tackle certain topics now than I could then, and doing it with different characters and storylines keeps it fresh.

If you are going to rewrite, my advice would be to keep a copy of the original versions of your stories somewhere, even if they're not posted online.  If nothing else, you'll enjoy going back to compare if and when you do finish the rewrites.

[Sakabelle]

Instead of rewriting old stories, I tend to recycle certain aspects of their storylines in new stories and improving on them.  It's fun to see how much better I can tackle certain topics now than I could then, and doing it with different characters and storylines keeps it fresh.

This is a good point. I did this a bit when I transitioned from writing BSB fic to 1D fic - there are a couple stories I did where the plotlines are pretty similar to something I'd done in my previous fandom but because I'd been writing longer at that point, I feel like being able to handle that plot was done better.

[RokofAges75]

That's a good idea, to re-use story ideas in a different fandom.  Most readers would never know the difference, and I bet it's interesting to see how the story changes with different characters.

[MaggieW]

Thanks girls.

I'm considering rewriting "Blackmailed", as an example, but part of me also wants to do another sequel to it and "A Second Chance", taking place current day and maybe involving the Backstreet kids, but I don't know what I could do. Like, maybe Baylee would need to use an amulet for something. Thoughts?

[RokofAges75]

I think you should write whatever you feel most inspired to write.  If that's a sequel, go for it!  If it's a rewritten version of the original story, then do that.  Either way, I'm sure it'll feel good to get back to writing fanfic!

[MaggieW]

If you are going to rewrite, my advice would be to keep a copy of the original versions of your stories somewhere, even if they're not posted online.  If nothing else, you'll enjoy going back to compare if and when you do finish the rewrites.

Yeah, I've put a copy of the original "Blackmailed" into a Scrivener file in the research folder of the rewrite file. Depending on how this one goes, I'll do the same for "A Second Chance". But I'm also thinking about the current-day sequel and the possibility of Brian and Howie discovering that some of Brian's memories of his time with Zator have been telepathically blocked. I was originally thinking of Howie being the one who did it, but after watching the documentary finally, I figured I don't need to create more fictional baggage like that. So, I'm thinking Serafina, the sister I created in "Blackmailed" for Zanell, was somehow able to use the telepathic power from Howie's amulet to block or even change Brian's memories. Some of the memories locked away could contain important information and training that they all need to be rid of Zator once and for all.

[MaggieW]

I've also begun to realize that if I rewrite the first one the way I'm planning, it changes a big subplot of A Second Chance. Wow...

Maybe I *will* just go with the next sequel...