Making an important edit to an earlier chapter, or work around it for now?

[jthornfield]

As I write my latest chapter, I'm realizing that I should have planted the seeds for a plot point in an earlier chapter (about 4-5 chapters earlier, or roughly 10k words).

Of course, if the story was private until I finished it, there would be no problem, but since I post each chapter here and on other sites as I complete them, I hesitate to make an important edit like that right now.

Would it be better to just find another way around this, even if it's not as good (or even contrived), then make the edits once the story is finished? Or should I just make the changes and leave a note in the most recent chapter that says "hey, go back and re-read chapter xx first"?

 

[Tyranomaster]

As I write my latest chapter, I'm realizing that I should have planted the seeds for a plot point in an earlier chapter (about 4-5 chapters earlier, or roughly 10k words).

Of course, if the story was private until I finished it, there would be no problem, but since I post each chapter here and on other sites as I complete them, I hesitate to make an important edit like that right now.

Would it be better to just find another way around this, even if it's not as good (or even contrived), then make the edits once the story is finished? Or should I just make the changes and leave a note in the most recent chapter that says "hey, go back and re-read chapter xx first"?

It fully depends on how you treat your webnovel. I personally look at webnovel writing in a manner of how the Japanese market handles it. Your webnovel is essentially a draft. If you treat it that way, you should finish the whole draft before you go make edits. Earmark spots you want to make changes so you don't forget, but then keep going. After you finish the novel, make changes and correct the draft as the next step in full publication.

This isn't the only way though. If you consider this to be the final product, then make changes as you see fit. You can put an author's note that "I added a bit of foreshadowing in chapter xx to accommodate this chapter, feel free to reread it as necessary". Just be careful of doing that too much, as you don't want readers to feel like they need to "do homework" i.e. constantly reread things that have been slightly altered to enjoy your story.

There are some people who will just keep powering through the whole thing, allowing for all kinds of mistakes, then move on to their next project as well. The writing ecosystem is quite broad online, and there are readers for everything. What I think is most important is to know your current and total target audience.

 

[jthornfield]

It fully depends on how you treat your webnovel. I personally look at webnovel writing in a manner of how the Japanese market handles it. Your webnovel is essentially a draft. If you treat it that way, you should finish the whole draft before you go make edits. Earmark spots you want to make changes so you don't forget, but then keep going. After you finish the novel, make changes and correct the draft as the next step in full publication.

This isn't the only way though. If you consider this to be the final product, then make changes as you see fit. You can put an author's note that "I added a bit of foreshadowing in chapter xx to accommodate this chapter, feel free to reread it as necessary". Just be careful of doing that too much, as you don't want readers to feel like they need to "do homework" i.e. constantly reread things that have been slightly altered to enjoy your story.

There are some people who will just keep powering through the whole thing, allowing for all kinds of mistakes, then move on to their next project as well. The writing ecosystem is quite broad online, and there are readers for everything. What I think is most important is to know your current and total target audience.

I definitely consider this to be the first draft. I saw the advice "it's easier to edit a bad story than to write a good one" and that's what inspired me to actually, finally, write something instead of overplanning it ahead of time.

I've only gone back to edit chapters a few times, and that's only been in the time between posting the chapters early to my Patreon and posting them publically, and even then, they're less "edits" and more "additions".

Thank you for your advice. I guess I'll just run with a less-ideal method of moving the story forward for now and hope it works well enough, and then make the proper changes when it's all done.

 

[Dec]

Truth be told, the best way to do it is to have at least those 5 chapters in a backlog, so you can go back and edit things before they get published. It fully eliminates the dilemma of editing what readers just know or going around it somehow, and potentially rushing or damaging the timeline.
It also helps with days when you "should" publish, but you are unable to for whatever reason.

Would it be better to just find another way around this, even if it's not as good (or even contrived), then make the edits once the story is finished? Or should I just make the changes and leave a note in the most recent chapter that says "hey, go back and re-read chapter xx first"?

I would say, go edit it, inform readers in the author note of the newest chapter, and then slow down releases for a bit so you can build up the backlog to avoid a similar situation in the future, as it will happen again.
OR
Just treat the story as a draft. Finish it first how it is now, then rewrite it properly while expanding lore elements and fixing mistakes from the draft version.

Your choice.

 

[jthornfield]

Truth be told, the best way to do it is to have at least those 5 chapters in a backlog, so you can go back and edit things before they get published. It fully eliminates the dilemma of editing what readers just know or going around it somehow, and potentially rushing or damaging the timeline.
It also helps with days when you "should" publish, but you are unable to for whatever reason.


I would say, go edit it, inform readers in the author note of the newest chapter, and then slow down releases for a bit so you can build up the backlog to avoid a similar situation in the future, as it will happen again.
OR
Just treat the story as a draft. Finish it first how it is now, then rewrite it properly while expanding lore elements and fixing mistakes from the draft version.

Your choice.

The "draft" idea is most likely the best for me. Having my set weekly release schedule is the number one factor in making sure I continue to write without taking a break that ends up never actually ending. It's miraculous that I've written as much as I have already. (The ADHD meds play a large part in this, too.)

 

[Axiweave]

Having buffer chapters help a lot, it’s helped me so much. I’ve never had this problem, you can easily go back and edit stuff. Although this is kind of what Decaded already said, i’ll take it a step further. If you’re a casual writer, 8 or more buffer chapters is perfect. If you write seriously, I think you need 15 or more though. Especially with stuff like patron rewards, if you’re getting early chapters you need a buffer for said early chapters too.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

I rarely go back and edit if I'm on a roll.
instead, just make a small note at the part of your book where you want to make a quick change, and push forward. Nothing kills your momentum faster than having to go back. *^^*

 

[CharlesEBrown]

It depends how critical this is to the overall story. If it just makes it more interesting, helps the flow but does not impact the events (like not foreshadowing), make notes to yourself to correct when done.
If it does affect the story, like you have a character in two places, or used the wrong name, or got descriptions mixed up (I have done all of these), go back and edit. If you feel kind, leave a note for your readers. If you don't really care, see if they notice and compliment their skills of observation if they do.