In my January 2021 Recap, I mentioned how I wrote a scene that didn’t work, and ended up rewriting it completely. Rewriting is not a new concept, it is the reason why we have first drafts. At some point we end up writing something that just doesn’t work and needs to be edited. If we’re honest, we usually have to edit a lot.
I’ve never written something before that so completely didn’t work, it was interesting. I wasn’t even halfway through the scene when I knew it was lost, but I wrote through the end of it anyways to meet a writing goal. When I completed it, I was even more sure that it would have to be completely rewritten.
It was almost painful how much it didn’t work with the story. There were decisions that hinged on out-of-character choices; there was, quite literally, a discrepancy in space and time; and I couldn’t even get it to move into the next scene, which was the last bit I needed to write in order to meet my writing goal.
I could have either left it as-is, hanging there to be edited later, possibly even forcing it to work at that point by making some major changes to the rest of the story; or I could scrap the whole scene and rewrite it.
I opted for the rewrite. This time, I focused more on how the characters would act or react and what that would lead to, instead of trying to bring them to a specific result I thought there was supposed to be. I chose to type it as I went instead of my usual handwriting, so I could just knock it out as it came to me. I had turned over and poked through the scrapped scene so much, I figured that once I caught hold of the characters again, the scene would basically write itself. And it did.
It’s not perfect or final-draft-worthy, definitely not ground breaking, and has a completely different feel from what I expected. However, it works with the characters, fits within the world properly, and despite the change in feel, the characters still ended up right where I thought they needed to be.
Rewriting took longer, when I already wanted to be done. It took more thought, when I had already thought through the nonworking scene up, down, and sideways. It put a wrench in my plans for where I thought the story was going. But because I did rewrite it, I have a scene that works better on all accounts and doesn’t force the story into something that it’s not.
This is honestly one of my favorite things about writing – whether you are a meticulous plotter, a care free pantser, or land somewhere in between, the story always surprises you and becomes its own thing. Even the meticulous plotter who sticks 100% to their pre-determined outline, I’m sure at some point while making the outline had to put in a scene they didn’t expect and were surprised by. Just because the story doesn’t change and grow as they write it word for word, doesn’t mean it doesn’t change and grow as they are learning and outlining it.
Everyone has their own reasons for writing, one of my main reasons is just how ridiculously fun it is. I meet people that hadn’t existed before (and to many, will never exist) and I follow them, learning things as they learn them, becoming surprised and heartbroken and angry when they are.
I firmly believe that you can’t force a story to go somewhere and it still work out. Yes, there are many things that you can alter or change, but when something truly doesn’t work within the story, it just doesn’t work. It drags the reader away from their suspended belief, it breaks the flow of the story, it sabotages the characters that it’s not true to.
I know I will have many rewrites before the story I’m working on becomes a book, let alone before the first draft is even finished. I’m working with a rough story-spine outline, and it’s been interesting to see it fill in and change as I write. I’m excited to see the story continue to grow, which, in all honesty, is a bit of why I’m getting frustrated with how slow my writing is. I’m anxious to know what actually happens, not what I think happens!
Have you ever written something and known full well before even finishing it that it all would have to be scrapped – not even altered and edited a bit? If so, how did you approach rewriting or resolving it?