Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => General Discussion => Topic started by: shrinkingviolet on February 02, 2008, 01:47:44 PM
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I don't even know if anyone remembers the stories I used to have on AC, but this applies to all writers.
I was going through my stories folder here on the computer (which is bulging with files, I need to clean it out), and came across a fic that I (think) I started writing in '03/'04. I read through the first few chapters, cringing at occasional bad grammar and the POV -- It was first person and switched from character to character throughout the chapters. But, I remembered how much fun I had writing it, and opened up my 'notes' for the story, and realized that I never really had it go where I wanted it to.
My question is, has anyone here ever pulled up old fics and rewritten them? I'm not talking just going through and fixing grammar and spelling, I mean actually trashing what you had and starting from scratch? Because now I'm full of ideas that would change the entire thing from the beginning (a slightly different plot, switching characters around, etc.).
Any thoughts?
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That's actually the reason I'm here...
Back in 1999-2001 I was writing BSB fanfic non stop, and then I sort of got caught up in other things and never really finished anything I was writing. A few months ago I found Backstreet-Fiction...which ended up leading me here and I started writing my old story again, changing the plot a little and fixing holes that made the story pretty fake. It's still pretty unrealistic, but I'm having fun writing it :) I started it over from scratch and it's coming together a lot better than it did back when I was 13 when I first started writing it hehe.
I have a couple of other older fics that were actually finished, and I sort of cringe when I read them, but since they're done (the original one was far from being finished..) I'm kind of weary to go back and re-write them. Maybe one day I will.
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I did it once and was MUCH MUCH happier with the outcome the second time around. I thin kit really just depends on how much you'd like to do it. If you think you'll enjoy working on a story you already wrote once, then I'd say go for it because it could turn out to be very fulfilling. But, if you start and realize you don't have the patience for it then there's really no harm in leaving it the way it is. We all have old stories that we aren't exactly happy with. Its kind of nice to see how we improve as we go along.
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We sort of did this with Code Blue... we started out actually rewriting, keeping some scenes but adding new ones to them and taking out others. Then it got tedious, and we ended up just editing the rest to fit the changes we had made. I'm glad we did it because I think it did improve the story, but I would never do it again. It was such a chore to finish what we had started, and it delayed the actual story for years.
The only time I have ever rewritten a story myself was with my very first attempt at fanfic. I started a story and got pretty far on it, but never finished it and never dreamed of putting it online anywhere. I stopped when I had an idea for a new story, started that, finished it and got it hosted online and moved on to its sequels, and I never went back to that very first story. Then I lost it in a computer crash. But I had always liked the idea of it, so I went back to it a year or so later and started writing it again from scratch. That was "Years of Grace," which isn't on AC, but is posted on my site. It's not an amazing story, but it's okay, and I'm glad I did rewrite it and finish it. It turned out to be a lot different and a lot better than the original.
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I had a fic that was relatively popular and people kept bugging me to update but I really didn't like it. I didn't like the style, the grammar, the characters, nothing but I liked the plot itself. So I completely trashed it and started from scratch just using the same ideas. It worked out.
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I've thought of doing that with some of my old stories, cause I still like the ideas of them and know I could do so much more with them now, but I think I'd get bored with it. If there comes a day when I'm out of new ideas and still want to write fanfic, though, maybe I will do that.
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I have one that I actually started a long while ago called "I, Nikolas" and *gasps* it was about Nick from his POV. I liked the idea but it never went anywhere and got darker then I originally intended... so yeah trashed that one but I've always pondered retrying it.
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I've never really rewritten anything except ideas that I've had previously and never quite got past a first chapter. Under my Skin to some extent was a rewrite of a previous fan fic, but it was more like incoporating the ideas from that into UMS. I've considered writing a prequel to UMS which I assume would prolly be more of a rewrite to this other fic, but by the time I finish ALTOS I might just be ready to be done w/ Nick and Alyssa.
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I have a list somewhere on my computer about every story I ever started writing, where it is in the writing process, who'd in it, etc. etc.
There's a few I've thought about rewriting, but never got around to it yet. When I originally made that list, I kind of came to the conclusion that a story I had started writing years ago had a similar basic plot idea to PBox... Only PBox is way more interesting. lol
But, I always say, if you're in love with the plot and the characters, go for it. :)
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But, I always say, if you're in love with the plot and the characters, go for it. :)
Agreed! I think that's what makes a good story all around, if the author is passionate about the plot/characters you can really tell in their writing
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I completely rewrote Mel's Tree. It was nothing like it was in it's original form and i'm so glad I did.
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^Between the fanfic and published version?
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nope betwen the first fanfic and the the finished one. Of course there are major changes as well between the fanfic and the published one but the plot was very different in the first fanfic version.
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So you've written it twice? That's impressive! I was thinking about buying it. :)
Could I find it at Amazon?
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http://www.amazon.com/Mels-Tree-Marianne-Forkin/dp/1413771149/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201989286&sr=8-1
Mare, is that still awesome, to see your book on Amazon like that?
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Score, I found a way to use my Amazon giftcard. lol
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Aww thanks Dee :) and yes I had to rewrite it because I was halfway through the first version when my computer crashed and I lost everything.
You can still buy it and yes it's weird to see it on Amazon even after all this time lol
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That's terrible. :( Poor Mare. *hug*
What is also amusing to me is that I recognize some of the customer reviewers. lol
Why is it twenty dollars? :( That's expensive. lol
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What is also amusing to me is that I recognize some of the customer reviewers. lol
;D
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I know. I'm not sure why it's so expensive considering how much I get from it. lol
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;D
lol Yes, your's is right on the top on the right side. lol
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I know. I'm not sure why it's so expensive considering how much I get from it. lol
If I'm paying twenty dollars for it, I expect a signed copy. ;)
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I think venturing into rewriting a story can help put the spark of life back into it if it just kinda dies out and you lose the inspiration to ever finish it. It brings the excitement back into it that you felt when you first started writing it. I know this first hand because Ana and I are currently in the process of rewriting our Second Chance series that we started way back in 2000. We made it all the way to the third/final story of the series and then we kinda just stopped writing. We didn't have the best skill when it came to grammar, quality, and the sorts, but we have matured quite a bit since first starting and our writing has improved more then we would have thought. Now we've decided to try to pick it back up and we are even more excited about rewriting it then we were when we tried writing it the first time around.