Young Writers Society

I've been working on my story for... hmmm... probably a year and a half. I've redone it 4 times. I've swapped characters, then swapped them back.
And I'm only on chapter 3!
Why am I still writing?

When should you ditch your story? When do you draw the line?

When do you go with a different idea?

(If this is in the wrong spot, I'm so sorry, dear authorities !)

When you're bored. [maybe]

Keep it up for as long as you can, but don't kill yourself. Sometimes it's just not the story to be written, and it won't work. But keep all your notes and papers, perhaps you can come back to it in a few years, salvage something, and write it again when you have a better view.

It's real hard, because it feels like you've wasted a lot of time failing, but... Yes, you have. XD Most people will say, "But you learned/improved!" I never believe them. Maybe you did, but I'm obsessed with purposes. If it didn't get me somewhere, what does it matter?

If you're tired of it, drop it. Don't force yourself. Maybe the next novel will work out ^_~

Hard questions, but I know the feeling.

I think it is time to 'ditch' a story when you find yourself no longer intrigued by any of the characters, no longer fantasizing and thinking about it. I don't think it's right or healthy to ditch a story you are still passionate about, still think about, still feel for.

For instance, I have had too many stories to count in the past. One includes two characters: Caishan and Ciziara. Though I have written almost nothing for this story, I am still in love with Caishan and Ciziara, and, though I have set the story aside for when I have the motivation to outline and write it, I refuse to 'ditch' it. I have four or five old stories like this. On the flip side, there are a few stories that I look back on, shrug and quickly move past.

I think it's fine to go with a different and not ditch a current idea. Setting a story aside is normal, and I see nothing wrong with waiting until the inspiration and ideas come for a previous idea.

And even in the story ideas you do 'ditch', character ideas often carry over. Looking back, I've noticed that all my characters seem to have some aspects in common; they seem to be rough sketches of each other, set apart by small things which change their personalities entirely. Caishan and Strick have lots in common, but the resolutions they have made as characters have altered their personalities, so a reader would have to look with a critical eye to note that Strick was based off of Caishan. Stealing names from old characters is fun, too, but that's another subject entirely.

Thanks so much guys... I feel much better about it.
I guess it's really my characters that I'm attached to, not the story itself.

The only reason why I thought about tossing it was because I was writing this little joke story about my friends and I had so much energy, I wrote four pages in two days and I was thinking, 'this is what it should be like. Not always getting writers block and the what-to-do-next syndrome'

So yeah, I rambled. :p

You could always keep the characters and tweak the plot/time period to make it more writeable? Characters are the attraction of stories, anyway, so it's not out of the ordinary.

As far as I know, there's no decided rule that you can't work on two things at once. You could put this at the back of your notebook until you feel like working on it again. If you never get back to it, eh, maybe it's better you didn't continue. Besides, like WD said, you can always pick it apart for characters and plot ideas if you need something for another story.

G'luck!

Argh! This has been my problem for years.

I flit between stories like little kids decide on ice cream: I never stay on one thing too long, I have ideas popping all over the place and my current story's universe won't allow it. (That's how Geezer's started out, BTW)

Just moral support. I gave up on Kismet, it's much too advanced of a storyline now.

I think the characters are more important the story. If you like your characters and want to keep them, then you can nix the rotten plot and make another one for them to be in. Sometimes the story will evolve on its own, without you doing much effort.

You're writing for fun. You're not on a deadline. You have no book contracts, no agents, no outside pressure. If you're not having fun anymore with a story, drop it.

Why waste your time and talent working on something you have no passion for?

-Kylan

Well... if you feel horrible by not continuing it, you can revamp the plot. Or tell it in a different POV. Or change the style you're writing it in.

Or you can set it aside and work on a different project!

I know that I was writing this novel for a long time. I had like.... 200 handwritten pages, plus a lot of other pages on the computer, and it was just a lot. But I was a stupid little kid at the time and, in order to make it more publishable, I ended up changing the plot so much that I hated it. So I decided to work on a couple of other projects while I was stuck. Some TYWC storybooks, "FREAK," and what was to become "The Unicorn Killers." When I dropped the novel I had been writing, I went to "FREAK" instead, because I felt like it was the project I spent the most time on, apart from the previous novel. I felt really bad doing it, because it felt like I was turning my back from the Swans, but... I've decided to rewrite that novel when I'm older. I still like my old writings of it though, lol.

When I ditched my story, I found that I loved the characters but not the world they were in. So I kept them but used a different plot and a different world.

Things worked out much better then.

I read this tip in Writer's Digest, and coincidentally it matches your problem.

I'd say that when it becomes a huge ugly pimple on your face of life, and you're making yourself have to sit down and write it.

Eh. Writer's block happens. Frustration is guaranteed.

But anyways. The Writer's Digest thing.

[Writing Prompt, Paraphrased]

Imagine that you've been working on a huge story for 1, 5, even 20 years. You consider it your life's work.

Then one day your agent calls you and tells you it won't be published at all, and for you to sit down and start new.

How do you feel? Relieved? Devastated? Thankful for the fresh start?

[/Prompt]

Anyways. Chances are if you're feeling relieved, then move on. This story is clogging your mind, obviously, and you can't get from Point A to Point B.

Of course, this is just my two cents. It all depends on how you think is best for your little writer mind.

I don't think it's possible to ditch story whilst you still care for the characters, feel something for the story and love it so much.

I have moved on from plenty of stories and characters in the past. Right now I am in love with four characters: Ivy, Ferris, Lloyd and Patrick. They are siblings and have been through a majority of different story lines but are still the same people. I can't move on from them yet just their story lines.


The time with come to move on and all you can do is wait for that time. It's possible to "ditch" a story whilst you still care.

My two cents worth.

Get a creativity dumpster aka a file cabnet or box to keep at least a hard copy of your work. Maybe someday you'll use part of it for something else, even inspiration or a good line of dialogue, or you might find it in yourself to revamp or restart it.

Ta,
Cal.

Thanks guys.

*hugs to all*

I think I found my problem.
Crappy plot. I mean really crappy.
I love my charries. I hate the world they're in.
It doesn't have anything to offer. It's like this world, without electronics.

Should I stick with fantasy or should I try modern? I don't know. I like fantasy better, but it seems like all the good ideas are taken.
I sit back in wonder at Writersdomain and those people with 300 and something pages of work.

Geez.