Why can’t I read my own novel?!

[greyblob]

have you edited it in any way? I'm guessing no. you might not need to do a complete rewrite. start reading chapter by chapter, improve structure, revise plot progression, remove and add more scenes, etc.

 

[lnv]

Hi. I’ll start off explaining that I did what most authors do: we come up with an idea and roll with it without giving it too much thought. And what happens when you do that? You realize your plot is shit halfway through and have to either drop it or re-write everything. That’s where I come in. I’ve re-written my story, 15 chapters (approximately 70-80k words?), and have now reached 29 chapters with 146k words. And I decided to read my story so I can maybe improve a bit of my plot… turns out my story is still shit. Apparently, I’m not as funny as I thought I was a few months ago…

So I now have to re-write over 100k words and several chapters somehow… How do you write a decent story in the first place?! I struggle with consistent character writing, magic system, mystery and most importantly… the villain. How do you plan something like that? I’ve tried and I’m NOT a planner. I want suggestion on how you guys avoid plot holes and inconsistencies so that I won’t keep making mistakes in the future.

This is why I have made it a habit to first write the story, then go back and edit the chapters. Only after editing them do I put them up. Because when you first write them, what you write on paper and what you think in your mind are 2 different things. To give you an example it's like you tell yourself I gotta go buy some milk. You don't go thinking about all the things in between to get that milk. The same applies, your mind is hyped about the concept so much you miss out all the details in between. Only after a few days when you come back to rereading what you wrote can you read what you actually wrote, not what you thought you wrote.

I would worry less about rewriting things and generally aim to improve your practices. So you don't end up rewriting 20X.

 

[MissPaige36]

This is why I have made it a habit to first write the story, then go back and edit the chapters. Only after editing them do I put them up. Because when you first write them, what you write on paper and what you think in your mind are 2 different things. To give you an example it's like you tell yourself I gotta go buy some milk. You don't go thinking about all the things in between to get that milk. The same applies, your mind is hyped about the concept so much you miss out all the details in between. Only after a few days when you come back to rereading what you wrote can you read what you actually wrote, not what you thought you wrote.

I would worry less about rewriting things and generally aim to improve your practices. So you don't end up rewriting 20X.

Right right, but I don’t even have the basic fundamentals down. I want to make things clear and the best way is to re-write everything

 

[CheertheDead]

Would like to ask if focusing on one story at a time applies to this? I mean, I got a lot of unfinished stories and concepts, that's why I switched from a 'spray and pray' approach to a 'one story at a time'.

If by focusing on one story means you focus on publishing one story then sure.

I got a lot of unfinished stories and concepts that I do not publish. Those ones would stay there as raw materials when I need.

Many scenarios and settings I am using for my current published story belong to other unfinished ones. It’s like having many different shapes then fit them into holes when the time comes.

If you are currently publishing an ongoing work, it is usually best to not publish another one unless you are comfortable with churning out consistent chapters.

I would either have to discontinue or put a work in temporary hiatus if I want to open a new work.

 

[Maze_Runner]

Right, I make sure to ask any willing readers on discord for help and advice on how to improve this or that

That's good! You could also ask other authors as well :D

 

[RainingSky]

I am not the biggest planner either but I do plan an ending and a few things that have to happen, like the Villain and the Hero meeting, mostly the Villain is on the winning side, the big fight happenening the world going awol, stuff like that, along with giving my chaps provisorial names until I release them to keep up a consisted story line, I do not suceeded always but it does help.
As for making sense I have a few people who agreed to read over one of my stories, it is a tremendous improvement now that someone tells me, Pal that doesn't make sense.

 

[RayneStorm]

You're not gonna like this but... you'll never stop complaining about your plot until you do at least the bare minimum of planning. What is that? If nothing else it's
1. What does our character want? (main plot)
2. Why can't they get what they want? (main conflict or roadblocks along the way)
3. What does your character need? (like a lesson to learn or something. think subplot)
Lots of amateur writers can't define those for their story. And not some lame thing like save the world. You need to be specific in those answers. Like instead of the goal being to protect his family you'd say instead, the main characters village was attacked by bandits 6 months ago with the promise that they'd return for their money soon, they have one month left to plan their defense or they'll lose everything including their lives. See how the second one already feels closer to being a story? That's what you want.
If you want a good consistent plot you have to plan and you need to know the ending. No ways around that. I recommend the eight sequence method, it's my personal favorite because it's so quick.

Apart from that, my other advice is don't go back. What works for me is that I have a hard deadline for myself and I power through. If there's a major plothole either I make a note to go back to it or I try to explain why it's not a plothole later one (maybe that plothole becomes the cause for a new conflict). I don't edit until the entire first draft is done, not even for grammar (the stories I post here are grammatically edited first drafts). The main goal for your first story is to finish it. Quality can come later. You can't properly edit an incomplete story. Finish the book. It's easier to go back and work in a better villain once you have the ending in mind.

Keep a notebook or a google doc open and make notes about your characters, locations, motivations etc as you write so you can reference them later. I know you think you can remember the details but that's a mistake I also made. Write the details down. Soft magic systems are a headache btw so I prefer hard. As for characters and villains, my guess is that their motivations might not be detailed enough. I made that mistake too. What do they want and how far will they go to get it? That question is what keeps them consistent

TL;DR: Don't edit as you write. Plan or don't complain. Character motivation is key. Finish the book full steam ahead and don't slow down.

Good luck. May the odds be ever in your favor

 

[MissPaige36]

Apart from that, my other advice is don't go back. What works for me is that I have a hard deadline for myself and I power through. If there's a major plothole either I make a note to go back to it or I try to explain why it's not a plothole later one (maybe that plothole becomes the cause for a new conflict). I don't edit until the entire first draft is done, not even for grammar (the stories I post here are grammatically edited first drafts). The main goal for your first story is to finish it. Quality can come later. You can't properly edit an incomplete story. Finish the book. It's easier to go back and work in a better villain once you have the ending in mind.

Keep a notebook or a google doc open and make notes about your characters, locations, motivations etc as you write so you can reference them later. I know you think you can remember the details but that's a mistake I also made. Write the details down. Soft magic systems are a headache btw so I prefer hard. As for characters and villains, my guess is that their motivations might not be detailed enough. I made that mistake too. What do they want and how far will they go to get it? That question is what keeps them consistent

TL;DR: Don't edit as you write. Plan or don't complain. Character motivation is key. Finish the book full steam ahead and don't slow down.

Good luck. May the odds be ever in your favor

Right right, I agree that I shouldn’t go back, but I have so many plans and it hurts that I didn’t plan much before I threw myself in. If I have to delete my entire story and re-write it, so be it. This time it’s for real! I wrote down every good tip you guys have given me, searched up everything about character building and world building and I’ll be mulling it over for a few days before I start writing. Thanks for the tip, as soon as I’ve caught up to where I stopped, I’ll continue to rush through the finish line (with good plans ofc)

 

[Deleted member 54065]

If by focusing on one story means you focus on publishing one story then sure.

I got a lot of unfinished stories and concepts that I do not publish. Those ones would stay there as raw materials when I need.

Many scenarios and settings I am using for my current published story belong to other unfinished ones. It’s like having many different shapes then fit them into holes when the time comes.

If you are currently publishing an ongoing work, it is usually best to not publish another one unless you are comfortable with churning out consistent chapters.

I would either have to discontinue or put a work in temporary hiatus if I want to open a new work.

Ah thanks for answer. ?

 

[yansusustories]

I don't think I can add much since I'm an intuitive writer and don't plan at all for most stories. Just glanced over what everyone else mentioned and wanted to say something to this:

If I have to delete my entire story and re-write it, so be it.

Don't delete it! Absolutely do rewrite what you have so far if you're not happy with the current version (I rewrote some of my older novels several times as well and they came out a bit better each time so I understand where you're coming from) but I'd suggest keeping the older versions. Name them something obvious so you'll know what they were and store them somewhere. Can be out of sight, even, on an external hard drive or a USB or some random google doc, whatever you like to use.
Saving them has a two-fold use:
The first one is that you might be able to reuse some things you felt you did well. That might not be in this new version but could come up in an edit later. Sometimes, you might even be able to use it as the basis for a completely new story later on.
The second one is that it allows you to compare the old and the new version. Especially when you do several rewrites, that's a valuable opportunity to have because it can show you with more clarity where you improved but also highlight some issues that you still can improve on even after the new version is done.

 

[MissPaige36]

I don't think I can add much since I'm an intuitive writer and don't plan at all for most stories. Just glanced over what everyone else mentioned and wanted to say something to this:

Don't delete it! Absolutely do rewrite what you have so far if you're not happy with the current version (I rewrote some of my older novels several times as well and they came out a bit better each time so I understand where you're coming from) but I'd suggest keeping the older versions. Name them something obvious so you'll know what they were and store them somewhere. Can be out of sight, even, on an external hard drive or a USB or some random google doc, whatever you like to use.
Saving them has a two-fold use:
The first one is that you might be able to reuse some things you felt you did well. That might not be in this new version but could come up in an edit later. Sometimes, you might even be able to use it as the basis for a completely new story later on.
The second one is that it allows you to compare the old and the new version. Especially when you do several rewrites, that's a valuable opportunity to have because it can show you with more clarity where you improved but also highlight some issues that you still can improve on even after the new version is done.

Right right! I’ll keep the good parts, remove the bad parts and add the new and good. My old drafts are all saved so I won't be deleting those anytime soon. I think it would be great to compare those for the future as well and see how much I improve. I’ll do my best!

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Use condom.

 

[Temple]

I'm not sure if you're really a panster or a planner that don't know how to plan yet. A panster really sucks with planning. I'm a panster, I don't even have a backlog (although I'll probably need to make one if I want to make a patreon), 2 days before the next release, I sit down and write the next chapter, thinking on the fly what will happen. As for plotholes, inconsistencies, etc., a panster will make ways to make the story work.

For example: Character A has a secret identity fighting Organization B. As the story grows, it turns out Org. B became way more powerful than I originally intended and they should've found out about Character A in the early chapters with their connections, etc. So what do I do? I cook up Organization C, protecting Character A from the start. All those instances Character A's secret should've been exposed, Org. C was there all along. If done right, it'll look like you're a genius writer.

That's basically how I do it in my story. Been winging it for 450k words already. Anyway, really check first if you're a panster. Most people say they're pansters are just sucky planners. But if you're really a panster, planning would really suck out your creativity. When I plan an outline and I reread it on the day this or that chapter is going to be written, I discard it because I have a better idea.

 

[MissPaige36]

I'm not sure if you're really a panster or a planner that don't know how to plan yet. A panster really sucks with planning. I'm a panster, I don't even have a backlog (although I'll probably need to make one if I want to make a patreon), 2 days before the next release, I sit down and write the next chapter, thinking on the fly what will happen. As for plotholes, inconsistencies, etc., a panster will make ways to make the story work.

For example: Character A has a secret identity fighting Organization B. As the story grows, it turns out Org. B became way more powerful than I originally intended and they should've found out about Character A in the early chapters with their connections, etc. So what do I do? I cook up Organization C, protecting Character A from the start. All those instances Character A's secret should've been exposed, Org. C was there all along. If done right, it'll look like you're a genius writer.

That's basically how I do it in my story. Been winging it for 450k words already. Anyway, really check first if you're a panster. Most people say they're pansters are just sucky planners. But if you're really a panster, planning would really suck out your creativity. When I plan an outline and I reread it on the day this or that chapter is going to be written, I discard it because I have a better idea.

I think I’m actually a planner who doesn’t know how to plan hahaha, but thanks for the suggestions

 

[Alfir]

I don't know. I write a chapter, then read it. If it's good, then it's good. if I feel something is off, I edit it. Every time I write a new chapter, I reread my prior chapters. It's a hassle, but it works just fine for me. While at it, I am gaining constant improvement, so it's not that bad.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Don’t rewrite anything, finish the story how it is now. You have to look at it holistically. You won’t be able to improve your writing if you don’t write the story out to the end. This is a problem I and a lot of other people in the model kit painting community have had, you build a kit and it’s not all that good so you build another one and decide to finish that one later. Then you get halfway done painting that one go say if ’i keep painting with my current skill level I’ll only ruin the kit, I’d best save it for later’ and you never finish anything. Finish the story, or write another shorter one that you can finish all the way through as practice. That’s my advice

 

[RobotWrite.exe]

I recommend trying yWriter. It’s a free program made for writers in the same way photoshop is made for artists. It’s intended to keep your chapters organized, and allows you to keep track of various scenes of the same chapter. You can describe what a scene is supposed to provide, flag said scene into categories like First Draft, Scrap, etc, so you know to comeback and see which scenes you’re not confident in.
Also, it lets you create "objects" as in character, locations, and items. That is to say, you write a small description of a location, take notes as a character grows, and describe a McGuffin in detail so you don’t accidentally write yourself into a plot hole. It even lets you tie an image to that object.

There’s no built in tutorial, you’ll have to search for one, but it is honestly one of the best tools a writer could have.

 

[RayneStorm]

Right right, I agree that I shouldn’t go back, but I have so many plans and it hurts that I didn’t plan much before I threw myself in. If I have to delete my entire story and re-write it, so be it. This time it’s for real! I wrote down every good tip you guys have given me, searched up everything about character building and world building and I’ll be mulling it over for a few days before I start writing. Thanks for the tip, as soon as I’ve caught up to where I stopped, I’ll continue to rush through the finish line (with good plans ofc)

I would say don't restart your story and power through. You need to experience finishing a project if you want to finish others. Success leads to more success. Have you ever heard of failing to success? Dean Wesley Smith talks about it. It's where you give yourself a goal just out of reach in a time that you think is almost impossible. Even if you fail, you'd have gotten much further than if you hadn't had such a lofty goal. Rewriting at this point would be a waste of time. What will you do when the ending means that the beginning now has to change again? I'd say, make a note of what needs to change and write as if you've already changed it. But this is why I like the eight sequence method. Because each sequence serves a purpose in the overall story it's easy to say put your happy scene in sequence 4 instead of 5 to keep the pacing right.

PS. Limitations and problems are more interesting than powers. Super strength isn't interesting on it's own if there's no kryptonite. If you have a magic system, the limitations are what will drive your story forward, not all the cool things you can do

 

[Deleted member 68927]

If you are not a planner, then don't plan. Just research some things to make sure your facts are right. I am a pantser too, and I never make outlines.