Show me your retcon skills.

[Feudyn]

Okay, it finally happened.

I had to retcon something over the silliest reason (one of my characters fired a bow but like, where did she get the bow from? )

Now I want to hear the silliest or oddest reason that you have had to retcon something in your novel.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Had a few moments where I thought I'd have to do something like that, but then remembered something mentioned earlier and it all worked out.

The worst - and I don't remember which story or character this was - was when I actually had to change a character's eye color after about seven chapters because something had happened where I needed them to be a certain shade and I'd actually planned it originally but then forgotten it until I got to the point where it was important and realized I'd been writing the wrong color all along.
Did something similar with a character's name, but only three chapters in (for some reason Michael Gray became Nathan Gray - his dad's name, and one of the few things he will never lie about).

 

[RainyLiquid]

I once did a thing that involved the alphabet and characters being called by their name in alphabetical order, so guys with A were called before B and so on, and I realized to late that a character would need to go at a specific time for this plot point i wrote in but her name had the wrong letter.

Anyway, turns out that was actually her nickname and conveniently her real name has the exact letter I needed, she just like never uses it and won't use it again!

 

[CountVanBadger]

I've had to go back and edit a couple of my chapters because I can't keep track of my own RPG system and keep listing people's stats incorrectly.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Missed a day in a fanfic in a world that only lasted 6-7 days in the manga.

I didn't actually retcon it, but I acknowledged my error in an AN. It would have been nearly impossible for me to add a whole extra day in at that point.

 

[Feudyn]

Had a few moments where I thought I'd have to do something like that, but then remembered something mentioned earlier and it all worked out.

The worst - and I don't remember which story or character this was - was when I actually had to change a character's eye color after about seven chapters because something had happened where I needed them to be a certain shade and I'd actually planned it originally but then forgotten it until I got to the point where it was important and realized I'd been writing the wrong color all along.
Did something similar with a character's name, but only three chapters in (for some reason Michael Gray became Nathan Gray - his dad's name, and one of the few things he will never lie about).

omg, the eye situation almost happened to me too. It was actually soo close to it being published with one of my characters changing their eye-colour halfway through the story because I forgot lol

I once did a thing that involved the alphabet and characters being called by their name in alphabetical order, so guys with A were called before B and so on, and I realized to late that a character would need to go at a specific time for this plot point i wrote in but her name had the wrong letter.

Anyway, turns out that was actually her nickname and conveniently her real name has the exact letter I needed, she just like never uses it and won't use it again!

Ah, the classic "task failed successfully" situation haha

I've had to go back and edit a couple of my chapters because I can't keep track of my own RPG system and keep listing people's stats incorrectly.

do you keep a notepad or a google drive with character descriptions and all that?

I'm still looking for a good program or app that can help me with that.

Missed a day in a fanfic in a world that only lasted 6-7 days in the manga.

I didn't actually retcon it, but I acknowledged my error in an AN. It would have been nearly impossible for me to add a whole extra day in at that point.

asking from someone that doesn't know anything about fanfics here:

Is that something that can be glossed over by readers once they see your AN, or is it like a cardinal sin?
(I think I'm wrong here, but) are ANs in fanfics more tolerated and effective?

 

[Sylver]

Not a retcon, one if my characters is a werewolf but my world has 3 moons, and this also extends the number of days where she loses control and becomes a werewolf. I just struggle to keep that in mind even though she should revert back to human by day and werewolf by night, I keep forgetting cx

There is one major change in the story that I would assume readers would mistake for a retcon but was actually a twist reveal but that would be some major spoilers. I wonder how readers reacted when that reveal happened. Ugh, likely thought it was interesting then read past it x) I wish I had fans that were as excited and invested as I am haha

 

[Snehazrul]

I did it recently too. Because as I progressed, the fighting was getting too much cartoonish, so I had the change back the power to something else

 

[LiteraryWho]

¿Alas?, I write my stories to completion before publishing, so I don't so much have retcons as edits. That said, I did once completely change the character of my lead, necessitating an entire redraft to make sure he was consistent (also, it improved the writing a ton, imo, but w/e).

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

asking from someone that doesn't know anything about fanfics here:

Is that something that can be glossed over by readers once they see your AN, or is it like a cardinal sin?
(I think I'm wrong here, but) are ANs in fanfics more tolerated and effective?

no one had noticed, or had mentioned it anyway.


In most fanfics, it probably wouldn't matter, but in High School of the Dead, the writer died, and it wasn't continued afterwards... it was only a week long, and I missed the first night, and moved onto the second night.

The only reason I brought it up to my readers is that I saved a little girl and her parents from the zombies, thus giving her a better ending than what happened in the show's canon, but technically, they wouldn't have been there that night.

 

[Ai-chan]

Got a dude took money to renovate the house from Ai-chan's dad. 10 years later the house was still not renovated and the money was still not returned. So Ai-chan changed the name of the worst scoundrel in the novel into his name and maybe if the book becomes famous one day, his kids will read it and said, "Hey grandpa, this character's name is same as yours!"

 

[Rilim-Mei_Scarlett]

Gonna change the name of my main kingdom thru a stealth retcon and make it a twist cause I still can't think of a name for the kingdom

 

[Eldoria]

Okay, it finally happened.

I had to retcon something over the silliest reason (one of my characters fired a bow but like, where did she get the bow from? )

Now I want to hear the silliest or oddest reason that you have had to retcon something in your novel.

I originally planned to portray the veteran knight commander Feroux as a tragic antihero martyr who atones for his past sins through self-sacrifice against the Shadowmist invasion (who are victims of the past who failed to be saved and now seek revenge). I depicted Feroux facing various dark, brutal, bloody, and traumatic redemptions.

However, my heart was touched when I saw him so steadfastly accepting his fate. Instead of denying his sins, he allowed himself to be punished by the past, demonstrating the true spirit of a knight.

I softened the situation and gave Feroux an emotional redemption sub-arc. He survived, but was severely injured and traumatized. But that was still better than a tragic death.

By the way, Feroux was only a supporting character. He was initially an annoying character who kept hindering the second FMC (Detective Clara) from evacuating the residents. He was arrogant, cynical, and full of self-esteem, perfect for being a cannon fodder NPC.

But when his memories returned, he became a wise and scarred knight. He became Detective Clara's protector, who was being targeted by Shadowmist. He sacrificed himself to protect the last shred of conscience. Because of it, I respect him.

 

[blushiemagic]

It feels like every other chapter I write, I have to go back and change something in a previous chapter.

One time I got the day of the week wrong, so I had to change a class demonstration into a private lab session. Another time I changed the name of a skill to sound cooler, but I kept on using the old name out of habit so I had to change it back. And another time I had to completely remove an ability from the MC...

I'm not sure how much it counts though when I haven't posted any of it yet.

 

[JayMark]

 

[illustriousReader]

Okay, it finally happened.

I had to retcon something over the silliest reason (one of my characters fired a bow but like, where did she get the bow from? )

Now I want to hear the silliest or oddest reason that you have had to retcon something in your novel.

but retcon sometimes funny to read, dude.

 

[Feudyn]

Not a retcon, one if my characters is a werewolf but my world has 3 moons, and this also extends the number of days where she loses control and becomes a werewolf. I just struggle to keep that in mind even though she should revert back to human by day and werewolf by night, I keep forgetting cx

There is one major change in the story that I would assume readers would mistake for a retcon but was actually a twist reveal but that would be some major spoilers. I wonder how readers reacted when that reveal happened. Ugh, likely thought it was interesting then read past it x) I wish I had fans that were as excited and invested as I am haha

ooh im curious to know more about this, though! What could have been the reason why readers would mistake it for a retcon? Was it the structuring?

¿Alas?, I write my stories to completion before publishing, so I don't so much have retcons as edits. That said, I did once completely change the character of my lead, necessitating an entire redraft to make sure he was consistent (also, it improved the writing a ton, imo, but w/e).

i wish I had the patience and ability to do what you do T_T

no one had noticed, or had mentioned it anyway.


In most fanfics, it probably wouldn't matter, but in High School of the Dead, the writer died, and it wasn't continued afterwards... it was only a week long, and I missed the first night, and moved onto the second night.

The only reason I brought it up to my readers is that I saved a little girl and her parents from the zombies, thus giving her a better ending than what happened in the show's canon, but technically, they wouldn't have been there that night.

One of these days I will probably write a fanfic...and it will probably be terrible

Got a dude took money to renovate the house from Ai-chan's dad. 10 years later the house was still not renovated and the money was still not returned. So Ai-chan changed the name of the worst scoundrel in the novel into his name and maybe if the book becomes famous one day, his kids will read it and said, "Hey grandpa, this character's name is same as yours!"

Go get 'em Ai-Chan!

Gonna change the name of my main kingdom thru a stealth retcon and make it a twist cause I still can't think of a name for the kingdom

okay this one is sneaky, I love it!

Is it one of them stealth retcons where you need to build up to it to mask the retcon itself? Or one of those ones where it happens super stealthily because you go about everything like "business as usual"?

I softened the situation and gave Feroux an emotional redemption sub-arc. He survived, but was severely injured and traumatized. But that was still better than a tragic death.

By the way, Feroux was only a supporting character. He was initially an annoying character who kept hindering the second FMC (Detective Clara) from evacuating the residents. He was arrogant, cynical, and full of self-esteem, perfect for being a cannon fodder NPC.

But when his memories returned, he became a wise and scarred knight. He became Detective Clara's protector, who was being targeted by Shadowmist. He sacrificed himself to protect the last shred of conscience. Because of it, I respect him.

Omg did you get attached to your character unintentionally? Especially since you said that he was perfect for being cannon fodder NPC.

It makes me wonder if this is one of those situations where the background characters were made so well (even if they were arrogant, background furniture, or like in your case "cannon-fodder NPC") that you grew attached. Kind of like removing that coffee table that is always ni the corner of the room, but doesn't get used.

It feels like every other chapter I write, I have to go back and change something in a previous chapter.

One time I got the day of the week wrong, so I had to change a class demonstration into a private lab session. Another time I changed the name of a skill to sound cooler, but I kept on using the old name out of habit so I had to change it back. And another time I had to completely remove an ability from the MC...

I'm not sure how much it counts though when I haven't posted any of it yet.

This honestly sounds like a useful technique of yours to have, by being aware that you have a habit or pattern of going backwards to edit - because it's like as if you are going backwards but super-editing when you look back at your previous work before you finish your current one.

Like i mentioned somewhere above in this thread, I wish I had the patience to do something like what you are doing.

but retcon sometimes funny to read, dude.

It is funny to read sometimes, definitely.

...I just hate when it finally happened to me lmao

 

[Eldoria]

Omg did you get attached to your character unintentionally? Especially since you said that he was perfect for being cannon fodder NPC.

It makes me wonder if this is one of those situations where the background characters were made so well (even if they were arrogant, background furniture, or like in your case "cannon-fodder NPC") that you grew attached. Kind of like removing that coffee table that is always ni the corner of the room, but doesn't get used.

I intended to kill him off as an NPC. He was originally designed to be an annoying NPC. But unintentionally, his character development happened organically.

His redemption sub-arc even took up over 10 chapters. That's a lot for just a supporting character. For comparison, Volume 1 only had 24 chapters.

It's safe to say he's one of the supporting characters with the best character development in my writing experience.

From arrogant to humble. From rough to gentle. From hard-line opposition to protector of the FMC. I have no regret about not killing him off.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

It makes me wonder if this is one of those situations where the background characters were made so well (even if they were arrogant, background furniture, or like in your case "cannon-fodder NPC") that you grew attached. Kind of like removing that coffee table that is always ni the corner of the room, but doesn't get used.

Had this happen literally in Between Earth and Pyrroth - a character who was meant to be mostly a running gag wound up becoming one of the main characters just because I needed to add one more character and she was sitting right there (well, mostly sitting, making sarcastic jokes and doing serious damage when called on).

 

[Conqueror_Quack]

​