Friday, September 5, 2008

Getting Run Over


We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over. Aneurin Bevan

I've been struggling with Front Page Affair, determined not to scrap it, for months now. But I haven't really committed to it because I know how flawed it is. Finally, today I decided it wouldn't cut it as it stands. I think I just couldn't bare to say good-bye to all those lovely pages I've written. Okay, they're not so lovely but still - all that time. I hope I learned something. Not sure what that is.


So now I have to decide whether I want to rescue my h/H and put them in a new story or if I should move on to other ideas.


6 comments:

Unknown said...

If it makes you feel any better, I don't have a single story that hasn't undergone a major rewrite from where it started to where it is now. And I mean major.

I finished a book last June that had a full request off a contest. I went to nationals with the idea that I would get some insight and come back to do the 2nd draft. Well, I was in for a huge shock. There was no way the story was going to work as is. And I had no idea how to fix it without losing what made me want to write the story in the first place. Sat on it for almost 6 months before the solution occurred to me.

There is always a way to fix something. Even if it means completely rewriting the scenes you love. Your heart may no longer be in it, but if you want a fellow Desire wannabe to help you brainstorm, let me know.

Unknown said...

Thanks Cat, I might take you up on that. I've been mulling a few ideas over in my head. I'm trying to make it into a Desire without having it sound like every other book out there. The same but different - LOL.

Annette Gallant said...

I love FPA and those characters. Do you want to get together and brainstorm? I'm up for that.

And just to make you feel better, I'm in the same boat. Yesterday I was thinking about CITM and decided (based on some very specific comments I received from contests) to scrap it. But I like my characters and that story and invested a lot of time writing it. So.... I'm going to do what Cat did and sit on it for now. Or brainstorm some more until I figure out how to fix it.

Anyway, unless you really, really want to ditch it, I'd love to help. Let me know. :-)

Unknown said...

Thanks Annette.

The deciding factor for me was a crit by a published Desire author. That's what made me decide that the bandaides I'd slapped on it just wouldn't cut it. It needed to be overhauled from the ground up.

Annette Gallant said...

It sounds like we're going through the same thing. I just received some incredibly detailed comments from a published author who recently judged my entry. As hard as it was to read at first, I can tell this person really knows their stuff and her comments were very enlightening. And if I take her suggestions, I'll need to revamp my whole story in order to make it work. A couple of other judges also made similar comments, so I'm taking a long, hard look at my story before I send it out anywhere else.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

This is where your characters and story might take over as a form of self-preservation.