We’ve all done it: Wrote something that never saw the light of day. Often times, as a writer, I begin something and abandon it. Sometimes abandonment comes from lack of interest, story stalling, or even not knowing where to go from where you are. Today’s tip focuses on resurrecting that old piece of writing that you tucked away.
Future Ideas
Sometimes the writing isn’t completely useless. Sometimes you can use the writing for future ideas. Take the writing apart and choose what you can use. Just because you have characters, settings, etc. in a text doesn’t mean that you can glean inspiration from it.
For example, I have a piece of writing that I started 15 years ago. I didn’t delete it, because there is a scene where the character is watching a storm rolling in across a field and she compares it to the storm that is happening in her life. Now, my story didn’t go anywhere, but this piece of prose is excellent writing. I remember thinking about it and writing it down to go with a story I had about domestic violence. That story didn’t pan out, but that scene did. In fact, I used it in another story because the imagery was so powerful.
Reviving a stalled piece
If your story suddenly stops because you have no idea how you wrote yourself into a corner, then maybe it is time to sit down with your characters. When I wrote Romancing Mr. All-Star, I ran into a similar situation. No matter how hard I tried to follow my outline, it just wasn’t happening. I couldn’t get the story to go forward.
Instead of abandoning my story, I changed course. What would happen if he couldn’t meet with his girlfriend to make things right because she was in an accident on her way to meet him or vice versa. I’m convinced that this sudden thrust of unforeseen circumstanced is why Game of Thrones has so many killed off characters. Inserting a new conflict or obstacles is a good way to determine how your characters are going to respond. In my situation, I decided to put that into the book. Yes, it may mean extra writing that never sees the light of day, but sometimes you find something that works well with your book.
Revisit your outline
If you story stalls and you can’t connect one scene to the next, then maybe you need to revisit your outline. Much like the advice above, this involves the addition of something new. Maybe you need one or two more scenes to get you to the next? Examine your outline and determine the next steps to take. Do you need an additional scene. Do you need to change perspective?
Even if I can create a loose outline that allows me to know the direction, sometimes I have to examine it closely to determine if there needs to be some roadblocks or change ups in the outline. These days I know how to input more between the big ideas, but when I first started, I had to be detailed when it came to my outline. I laid out each chapter scene-by-scene. If I struggle too much, I may go back to that until the story can easily flow again.
Writing that I started and stopped are generally treated this way if I want to revive them. I will go back and look at them to determine if I need to revise or even recreate an outline. Sometimes this is enough to shake the cobwebs loose from the writing and allow me to complete something that I thought was useless. I don’t lose all the time I already have invested in a piece of writing.
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