Edit or start from scratch?

I learned a couple of things about writing, and now I see the flaws of my work. I kind of hate my book now and I get stressed editing it. I’m not sure if I should start over or continue editing. I feel so lost and bummed out. Anyone has a similar experience or advice?

 

I guess something like that has to be decided on a per-case basis. I've completely rewritten many attempts, and revised and edited the hell out of others. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but it really depends on the material and the problems you see with it. If some parts are salvagable, you might transfer them over, edit them appropriately, and re-write the rest. I often look at a draft as a patchwork quilt, cobbled together from bits and pieces of whatever, with gaps that need to be filled in and parts that need to be reworked. It's just a matter of doing a mix of revising, rewriting, and refining until it all works and reaches that level of polish where you can call it done.

 

Yep, the book I have just finished (Dreams) I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2012. It was initially written in first person POV, so I rewrote it in third, but it still felt off. I started yet again, unprepared to give up on the basic plot. I only copied the sections I liked into a new document. The rest, rather than trying to edit, I rewrote. I started with scene stubs (the bones of the story). Once I'd completed that process, I began to add the meat. I write like I paint - in layers.

One important point if you want to publish is to write to genre. Decide which categories your book falls under and write with that in mind. Also if you have the money invest in an editor

 

Revision is hard, but it's often where the real magic happens. I'm sure you've heard it said that a big part of writing is rewriting. And the blank-page approach sometimes is what needs to happen. I think you have to trust your gut and your writer instincts. But, man, I sure can relate. No matter what you revision can take a lot out of you, but in the end it can pay off big time.

 

I've been where you are. Developed my skills and improved, so I had to rewrite because that other draft was utter crapiolos.

I agree with other commenters that you should decide based on the story and your gut feeling. If you are somewhat new to writing, I would perhaps wait before the rewrite and continue to improve myself a bit more. Then when you feel like you've honed your skills sufficiently, you can always post a short story for critique to give you a feeling of where you are. Then start the rewrite.

 

If the editor gives you a detailed report of the problems they see it can be a huge help, with this question. Often this question can be a forest for the trees issue for a writer. We are simply to close to the story, and we miss things that might cause problems for a reader. There are also cases where our work is complete crap, and we need to take a different approach to the story idea. Genre and genre tropes can be a help in this. Tropes become so because the reader expects those events in the story.

 

Re-writing can truly breath new life upon the pages, especially if your skills have massively improved since they were originally written. Editing is only really effective on writing that is already of high-quality, but in need of polishing to make it shine further.

If you do edit and there is a big gap between the skills you had when you first wrote the draft versus the skills you have now, chances are, you will do a lot of re-writing anyway.

You describe being overwhelmed, so maybe there really is a big gap. I've personally been there. My old projects (books I've wrtten) seem like garbage. There is no rescuing them. There is only re-writing them completely from scratch. I doubt I'd even look at the old drafts. The story is what I'm in love with; not my old writing. And the story is already in my head, so no need to look at them.

 

I might consider starting over, so maybe another spark of inspiration will come to me. However, I need to take a break and focus on school. Finals week is coming up. I will get back during winter break.

That’s the most frustrating part. I often feel like I don’t know if something is bad or good and how to fix it. Maybe I should pay an editor.

Good idea. I could start critiquing other stories and watching more writing advice videos in the meantime.

Thank you to everyone with their input and advice.

 

Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon.

- Raymond Chandler

 

How familiar are you with the basics of story? Things like the three act structure and character arc? You should have a good familiarity with these ideas, whether you work as a discovery writer or plot everything down to a T. I'll drop a few good links here for information, but I recommend doing some searches and finding more as you go forward.

Three act structure:

• The Three-Act Structure: The King of Story Structures @ Reedsy
  • There are other methods, but the three act structure is the basis on which everything rests. Any other technique is either a modification on it or a rebellion against it. Basically it's the way we think—we break story into an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion.

Character Arc:

• How to Write a Compelling Character Arc @ Reedsy
• How to Write Character Arcs @ KM Weiland Blog
  • This is massive, and will take some time and many visits to absorb it all, but it's some of the best info I've found anywhere. For starters concentrate on positive change arcs (the most common kind), and after gaining a good understanding of that, you can look into other variations.

 

I think I have a general idea of my story structure and characters. Although, I never made an outline. Do you recommend doing one before writing a book?

I mostly struggle with the small details like dialogue, and narration. I would ask questions like: Is it too wordy? Is it repeating already known info? Should this part tell or show? How can I reword it? What can I add to spice it up? Sometimes it's hard to see how to fix those things. That’s why I might consult an editor.

 

You think you do, or you do? Did you at least spend some time looking at those links? I can almost guarantee you, whatever you may know about character arc, KM Weiland goes way deeper than you were aware of. But I know, I can lead you to water but I can't force you to drink. Structure and character arc are far more important than the little details you mentioned. They're the parts that need to be worked out first, you save word choice and showing until you've got a good solid structure worked out with an interesting character arc (or several). And of course, as with any complex set of skills you try to learn, you'll be very awkward with it at first, and it will take time and practice to improve until eventually you can do it really well. Your first few stories will be really rough, and years later when you look at them you'll probably cringe. But your fifth or sixth will be better, and your tenth better still.

Beginners have a tendency to want to just blow off studying, but it's generally why their work is so beginner-ish. It doesn't take much to familiarize yourself with these ideas, which are the foundation of good writing. You have to have a good strong foundation before you worry about what kind of doorknobs to install, or curtains. I mean, I could be wrong, maybe you already have a good solid grasp of three act structure and character arc. Probably what you have is a decent understanding, that will improve stage by strage as you read more about them. It's the way you learn, which is the only way to become a better writer. You can learn some things by just writing a lot, but only up to a point. Then it requires an understanding of these principles.

Yes.

 

It sounds like you made it to the end of that first draft. Most times it's people who can't finish a first draft that need to spend more time on structure. Sort of. The initial attempt is ignorant of structure altogether: things happen, the end. Supreme novices are more likely to finish a book because of this. What typically follows is a more bashful attempt, awareness of how the story should feel but unable to accomplish it, leading to an unfinished novel again and again until the writer actually takes the practise of structure for its own sake seriously. That's a long-term trap. It's decades in the tar pits kind of thing if agency isn't invoked. I could be wrong, but I suspect structure isn't a particular problem for you at this point.

If you're abnormally indecisive about the particulars of scene craft, it might be better to read some more fiction with those questions in mind. There's a degree of it that everyone's not sure about, of course, and that's where beta readers or possibly developmental editors (if you've got cash) come in handy.

Reading with intent will build that intuition, and it's basically free. That said, try to avoid the trap of 'not being ready' or 'need to read another craft book.' Regrouping with uncertainty is a good way grow, but only if you keep moving forward and producing, otherwise it's infantilizing yourself for the sake of procrastination by any other name.

 

Well ok, maybe you aren't ready to work on foundational skills just now, maybe you just want to polish up the surface elements and make the story pleasant to read. I guess I did that for a long time. I did the same with drawing for many years too—skipped the foundational skills, until I decided to go back and fill them in, and my work got a lot better. It's really a pretty common way to proceed.

If you go to an editor, the first thing they'll do is what's called a developmental edit, which involves structure and character arc. The last thing is a line edit, which means polishing up at the level of sentences, phrases and words. You go from the big to the small. But that's just if you're serious about growing as a writer—if you just want to polish up this story and make it nice, you can definitely do that.

 

I appreciate you taking your time writing all of this. I need to hear these harsh truths if I want to improve myself. I can’t say anything, but thank you.

 

I would also like to add that while you are studying, keep writing because we constantly discover new ways to improve. Don't tie yourself up in knots. Enjoy getting your stories down on paper. Write, Write , WRITE

 

Thinking back, I realize if someone would have tried to force me to learn structure etc when I didn't want to do that, I probably would have just quit. So my advice is to just keep this stuff in mind for some time when you decide to go that way (if that happens), and maybe at least read those articles at some point. It takes time for the informatiom to soak in and take root, and then for your mind to start processing it. It can't be learned overnight or in a few short months. What I'm talking about is the long game, if you decide you want to improve yourself as a writer. But it's also important to have fun along the way.

 

Yep, it is the long game. That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.

 

Yep, some people pick it up that way. Most of us need to learn it the more standard way, or take decades to absorb it.

 

Maybe both? There's an option where you rewrite while keeping what's good. The easiest way to do this, in my opinion, would be to open two windows next to each other, one with your story, one blank. Rewrite on the blank page while following along with the already written version, repeating what's good, keeping what's useful, all while using your new skills. You'll probably be surprised how fast the process goes.

It's an idea, anyway, and worth a shot, I think. I've done similar things myself. If it's not working after a chapter, then meh. Give it up. Nothing lost.

 

Reading all of these posts, I think I just beat myself up too much. Sometimes life and my anxiety gets in the way and it makes me overthink things. I was playing the short-game instead of the long one. I’m glad I joined this forum. So far, it’s been an eye-opening experience, helping me learn more about writing and about myself. I’m glad I joined and that I am no longer alone.

 

First, congratulations on completing a novel!

Second, yep, been there, done that, sent postcards to plenty of people who didn't want them.

It doesn't do any good to work on a manuscript you're busy hating. Put it aside for a while and work on something else. When you feel less lost and bummed, take it out and reread it with a stern but kind attitude.

If it looks like a practice piece to you, accept writing it as an integral part of your education, put it aside, and create something better. I'd tell you how many hundreds of thousands of pages I've torn up, thrown out, burned, or otherwise rejected, but I suspect I can't count that high. I can tell you I wrote several novels before producing one that made me think, Holy Toledo, this is good.

If you see merit in the manuscript, embark on editing and rewriting it. This part of writing is challenging, sometimes frustrating, and great fun. Being a physical sort of person, I make a hard copy of the manuscript so I can mark it up, cut it apart, and reassemble it like a literary jigsaw puzzle before rewriting it on a clean word doc.

I wish you tons of luck and great joy from your writing.

 

You have the right attitude to make real progress. As much as we live what we create, we need to be able to set aside our ego. It is the best way to learn the lessons needed to improve our craft.