Story Salvation

[raefinlay]

Since I first began writing, and up until about...oh, 1 month ago, I had a terrifyingly bad habit of starting a story in the wrong place. I had this misguided idea that in order for an event to punch, I had to create backstory first. Exposition, baby, was my middle name. Rae Exposition Carson.

So, tonight I'm revising a novelette for submission to Realms. I'm happy with the premise, the character motivations, even (gasp) the prose. But I wrote the first part long ago, in the Exposition Phase, and the story begins with lots of Important Details. I'm reading it over again, realizing that were I an editor, I wouldn't get past page 3, in spite of the word prettiness.

Unfortunately, I AM a multitasking maniac. Which means that tiny plot threads, the most minute details, are carried through a story when I write. So my beginnings are important. And if my beginnings are stupidendous, and the resulting story directly follows, then changing my beginning requires a Massive Rewrite.

I'm just not sure what to do. Do I rewrite this story from the ground up? Or do I trunk it and brush it off as yet another painful lesson learned?

Vacillation sucks.

But learning from self's writing catastrophes is somehow--masochistically--inspiring.

Comments

[melinda-goodin.livejournal.com]

oh, I hear you. I often spend forever figuring out where to start a novel, and getting it majorly wrong. I hope to learn to write short stories this year, and fear the wrong start off muchly.

Can you bring the important details in later in the story? It might be worth trying it, even if it ends up a trunked "learning experience."

[aaron-mag.livejournal.com]

Which story is this? Have I read it. I think I have an opinion on this...but can't be sure...

[greenlight711.livejournal.com]

Need some help? I'll take a look at it for you.

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

If the beginning details are weaved throughout the story, it sounds like a rewrite might be in order. Not the Line-by-line editing sort, but brushing aside what you've already done and starting from scratch with the same story. That way you can be sure the same emotion and details are fused into the story at its base, rather than having a spackled and patched effect of deleting and inserting certain spots. You might be amazed at how different, but the same, it is.

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Yep, that's what I'm thinking about. I once rewrote a novelette--a silly princess story with a curse of ugliness--just to get out of a certain nasty prose habit. I knew from the beginning that it was unsaleable. But it was still worth doing!

Woo woo! Short stories! Will we get to see any? *begs*

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

I rewrote the first three Khatire chapters and turned them into a novelette. :)

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

Would you really?? I think you've already read the first 2/3 of it. (It's an excerpt from Unmagicked) If you don't mind, I'd love to send the first few pages to you. :-)

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

Yep, exactly. I have a current revision (on another story) that has that "spackled and patched effect." It ain't pretty.

[aaron-mag.livejournal.com]

I'll take it as well. I like Khatire anyway...

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo! Two reading slaves! Thx, Aaron.