1. DeathandGrim

    DeathandGrim Senior Member

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    Novel Scrapping completed work

    Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by DeathandGrim, Mar 30, 2013.

    I actually feel happy and sad about this. I love the fact that I had the resolve to finish my first full story (a novella) finally and I felt great and was all ready and geared to go for the sequel as well as editing and altering

    But then My mind does what it always does and wandered and as I thought of the numerous ways of expanding the story I realized to do certain things I thought would be great I'd have to alter certain parts, change this and that, etc. and then I realized that my first story just flew by too quick and not enough was developed. And then I figured out a way to split my first story and eventually I ended up shelving the first story all together til I could come up with the best possible plot that I'm happy with

    I feel so good that I focused my ADD to complete something but I'm kinda sad to see it get put away
     
  2. doghouse

    doghouse New Member

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    Congrats on completing your first work. It can be hard to look at what we write objectively, and wanting to expand, change, improve a story is only natural.

    Nothing wrong with shelving a work. Start something anew. Go back to it months down the line, and shiver at its terribleness. *chuckles*
     
  3. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    kudos to you for having the courage to do the right thing... don't mourn your first effort, venerate it for having taught you so much! ;)
     
  4. njslater

    njslater New Member

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    Just file it away and move on then when you are a famous writer it will become your great lost work
     
  5. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    Glad you "shelved" it. That's not "scrapping" it. It's understanding that your first project has served its purpose. Now, in your next effort, you will have learned from your experience and continue to grow as a writer.

    I still sometimes go back and reread my first novel. Each time I do, I see some other aspect that, were I to write it now, I would do differently. But it still warms my heart to see it completed, because it proved to me that I could actually take a story idea from start to finish.

    Good luck in your next project.
     
  6. mg357

    mg357 Active Member

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    I have done it I have written out entire writing projects hated them then scrapped and started over from scratch.
     
  7. psychotick

    psychotick Contributor Contributor

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    Hi,

    Like the others, congrats. And I've done the same thing too, scrapped a work. In my case it was an entire novel which I trashed and then turned the prolog into a short story. It hurts. But in the end it's just a part of the process.

    Cheers, Greg.
     
  8. Krishan

    Krishan Active Member

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    It sounds as though - in the process of writing this first attempt - you've resolved some things and had some ideas that will make the next attempt better than it ever could have been otherwise. That's a natural and positive thing. I go through a lot of drafts before I'm happy with something, and generally speaking each draft is better than the one that came before it.
     

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