I started a novel my freshman year of college and eventually bagged it--it didn't have enough of a plotline to work. But I invested a lot of thought and time in the characters. I hated to set the project aside because several readers had said they loved the characters, and I too was attached to them.
I started another novel my junior year of college. I got further in this one, but I realized that the plot/conflicts/characters were far too similar to those in Star Wars (not exactly the same, but enough so to make people think, "Hey, this is a lot like Star Wars"). So I'm bagging it too, I think. But I love the world, the magic system, and the creation myth.
Should I keep records of things like this so that someday I can take a character from novel #1 and the creation myth from novel #2 and put them into a completely different scenario? How often does stuff like this work? Should I just let the stories die and start from scratch later?
What would you do?
Side note: Oh, and Survivor, the townies are winning. You didn't die in vain.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY
Seriously, don't. You never know what inspiration you will draw from it later.
Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :
I often have these awesome (to me at least) story ideas that after a bit of exploratory writing, don't pan out.
But I do keep them in mind and sometimes I have been able to combine elements from failed stories to make a better, fuller story.
Notes are an interesting idea. Like maybe a little idea notebook. Normally I just keep the "false starts" in a file.
Chances are, if you really like the concept, and it has "staying power", then you will remember it, even if you don't make notes.
Hey, I had forgotten about that lesson. Must be where I got the idea of combining stuff.
So, I'll just testify that it works.
Problem is that I still have lots of other pieces floating around, looking for "mates". I guess they will come together at some point.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
For every story that I write I keep a scraps file where I paste things I cut out of it. I almost never reuse the stuff, but it makes me feel better about cutting things, knowing that they're still there.
I took my first novel, which had irredeemable plot issues, and pulled a scene out of it which made a fairly successful short story. Not that I've sold it yet, but that's the closest I've come to reusing an older piece.
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
It seems like OSC said he gets some good stories by combining two ideas. I guess in How to write SF&F he talks about that, I think with respect to Hart's Hope (which I never read :hangs head in shame: )
After reading that, I did think of story idea that combined two ideas I had before. I don't know if it will ever become a story.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Keep everything. There are a lot of reasons, but basically anything you've ever written will fall into one of two catagories, stuff you want to keep for its own sake and stuff you want to keep around to remind yourself of how far you've come.
