Finding a better idea once writing is ready nearly done.

[ViktorBloodfallen]

I wanted to ask you folk if you have had similar moments.

I noticed I will write and get my chapter ready to publish, only to proofread it and think "actually this would go so much better here and this would work better if i did x y z" and then scrap the chapter keeping bits and pieces from the original. Ultimately rewriting the entire scene.

Personally I do not see it as a waste but it sure is frustrating i couldn't think of it the first time.

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

I see that as character growth. My first drafts of the Goblin King of Eldoria were wildly different in tone from the finished one. Though I did begin it originally over 20 years ago ? When I picked it back up as an adult, I practically gutted everything, keeping the main spine intact. But if you change things in a later draft, it meant you learned something between then and now. I’m sure it is frustrating, but it’s also progress.

 

[Eldoria]

No (human-made) narrative is perfect from the start. If you miss an idea, you can save it for later chapters. However, if the idea doesn't change the substantial value of the finished chapter, but only adds detail to the narrative, you can revise the chapter (and rewrite it) at any time.

 

[L1aei]

I wanted to ask you folk if you have had similar moments.

I noticed I will write and get my chapter ready to publish, only to proofread it and think "actually this would go so much better here and this would work better if i did x y z" and then scrap the chapter keeping bits and pieces from the original. Ultimately rewriting the entire scene.

Personally I do not see it as a waste but it sure is frustrating i couldn't think of it the first time.

Yes. Constantly. Way more than I'd like for it to bounce around in my head; that hurts when the original is replaced too.

The thing is that the first version came from an explosive burst of inspiration, and it was because it almost got published, but over time that shine dulls. Then a new idea hits and feels... better. But the idea of sensing the improvement doesn't always mean is better. Sometimes it's just different, and our brain likes it more because it's refreshing.

What we, and I mean all of us, do in those moments isn't always upgrading or downgrading the work. Sometimes we've just grown restless with something that's been sitting too long, so a new, shiny idea will give us that sense of betterment even if it's just motivational motion to finally believe it's been perfected.

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

I can see that. I know my brain goes ooooh shiny and new! That can lead someone to believe it’s better.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

A few times. Even had it happen in games where players came up with a better story idea than I had (once their idea became the actual story, the other few times I managed to merge them).

 

[writerwolf359]

I’ve never had an idea that I’ve scrapped an almost completed chapter for, but I’ve certainly had plenty of times where I had no idea what the through-line of a chapter was going to be until I was well into it. The last time that happened, I made it all the way to editing.

 

[SouthernMaiden]

Hmm, I'm usually committed to at least the ordering of scenes by the time I'm ready to post. Now, wording, phrasing, description, dialogue all thst stuff I change my mind on

 

[Joyager2]

All the time. Whether or not I actually go back and rewrite it depends on when I have the idea. If it's while I'm still writing the chapter, absolutely. If it's while I'm working on the chapter that comes next, or even the one after that, I'll probably still go back. If it's a much larger idea that is generally better but requires a more comprehensive shift for the rest of my story, I put it in my notes and save it for the second draft.

 

[mythosandmagic]

I'm constantly asking myself "What if?" when I am reviewing chapters and scenes.

 

[DoodTheMan]

If I ever have that happen I tend to just push through the feeling. I write in large batches at a time, so I'll just see how I'm feeling a few chapters down the line, and if I don't like where the story is headed I'll go back to that initial place where I felt uneasy and take it in a different direction. Usually, though, it just ended up being a feeling, and once I push past it I like how it ended up going.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

I wanted to ask you folk if you have had similar moments.

I noticed I will write and get my chapter ready to publish, only to proofread it and think "actually this would go so much better here and this would work better if i did x y z" and then scrap the chapter keeping bits and pieces from the original. Ultimately rewriting the entire scene.

Personally I do not see it as a waste but it sure is frustrating i couldn't think of it the first time.

Yep

Hence why two of my pieces are on Hiatus right now... I want to delete one, and rewrite the other from the beginning. In MFGR I kept changing the direction I wanted to go in that writing, and it destroyed my pacing, and I had to keep jumping through hoops to maintain continuity. I stopped at the end of the 2nd arc, not sure I want to continue to the final arc as it is.