jcd1013: (Write-the redbook by fileg)
jcd1013 ([personal profile] jcd1013) wrote2004-01-23 04:58 pm

Well, that was stupid of me!

Rereading your own stories is sometimes a risky endeavor.

After being nominated at the Literati Fanfiction Awards, (waves gratefully to very sweet person), I decided to reread my "What A Wonderful World." I am truly vainly proud of that story, mostly because I swear someone else wrote it--I must have been channeling a spirit or something. I just remember that I was especially giddy because a particular crush seemed to be going right at that time (of course, it fizzled not long afterwards), but seriously, I don't recognize that brand of Romantic!Me.

Anyway, I decided to go through the rest of my stories, especially LNB, just to make sure that I didn't have any glaring errors or major inconsistencies. Yeah, bad idea. My early Jess is laughable in his conversation... sometimes I get him, and then other times, who was I writing, an English professor? [livejournal.com profile] kimlockt told me that he needed some work--and I agreed at the time and changed a few things, but I just hadn't seen until now how much!

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized... the first four chapters are really just an introduction to the story. Compared to my later chapters, they're short, only about 4 pages each and not that much important stuff happens.

So I've been editing all afternoon. I combined chapter 1 and 3, and will be doing the same for 2 and 4. And Jess is getting a trim. All of the "really" and "so" that I use are going bye-bye, as well as most of the first words of every sentence.

But now, I'm concerned that I'm going to have to repost the whole thing at ff.net. Combining like that will make my story two chapters shorter and it'll mess up my reviews (I hit 50! Woohoo!!) and I remember reading something that if you try to delete the last chapter, it wipes away your whole story.

But it needs the changes so badly. I can't even think about continuing it until I get this fixed. Grrr.

Any advice?

[identity profile] prettywordslike.livejournal.com 2004-01-24 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
Oh no, no, no. You read your earlier work? If only I could have warned you in time, thrown myself in front of you and your writing. [Picture me, secret agent style, running in slow-mo, screaming "nooo..."] Reading what you've written earlier helps you grow, improve, ect. (And it's especially funny when you can laugh at yourself wondering "What the hell was I thinking?!" and "Have I never heard of a comma?") But reading a current story back to yourself...*shakes head*

How do you think my inspiration for Over Time died? lol

Advice, eh? Well, you can save your reviews for yourself. (Go to the backup part of ff.net log in.) I mean, you want to be satisfied with it, right? It's always a risk deleting your story, and starting over again, but if it's really driving you nuts, then do what you have to do. Although, I'm sure you can replace chapters. But ff.net is sometimes very undependable.

[identity profile] jcd1013.livejournal.com 2004-01-24 09:44 am (UTC)(link)
I know, I know, I foolishly took the bullet. I thought it'd be a good thing, remind myself of where I'd been, get ideas of where I'm going. And boy, it was a mistake. At least, I have very concrete ideas of how to finish the fic--I don't think it has messed up my muse in the long term. Wouldn't that be laughable. Right, muse? Muse? Muse?

Yeah, I have to change it. It'll just grate on me until I do. It flows so much better now and I'm happy(ier) with it. I had just hoped to find a way to (continuing with all of the silly metaphor) have my cake and eat it too (okay, that one was just dumb).

Now, what can I say to help you resuscitate your inspiration for Over Time?

And ff.net? (sticks tongue out) Bleh. I spend more time formatting my chapter, so that the stupid program will actually read my whole document and not chop it into bits, than I do writing!

Been There, Done That...

[identity profile] bjorks-defender.livejournal.com 2004-01-24 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
Julia, I don't have any advice about the whole ff.net thing, except that it is true that if you try to delete a final chapter, it deletes the whole thing. I was about to delete a final chapter once when the li'l message popped up, warning me that the whole story would go bye-bye! Needless to say, I got the heck outta there @ that point.

However, I did want to sympathize with you on the whole rereading old fic concept. Oy! Back b/f my GG days, I wrote General Hospital fanfic. My first two stories... well, I knew they were bad, so it's okay that I go back and read them now and see that they were, indeed, BAD! However, then I wrote my epic. Twenty-five chapters, plus an epilogue. When I wrote that story I was sooo proud of it... then a couple of months ago, I started rereading parts of it. It was awful. I'm almost ashamed that people ever read it. It is mind-boggling to think about the fact that these people claimed to enjoy it. Awful. Maybe it had something to do with the necessary soapiness... nah, it was just my writing. LOL!

Anyway, I feel your pain. I just hope I never go back and read DB and realize it sucks royally. That would break my heart. LOL! *pats DB on head*

Later,
Becka

Re: Been There, Done That...

[identity profile] jcd1013.livejournal.com 2004-01-24 09:57 am (UTC)(link)
I guess there's probably ways around it... Deleting internal chapters and then shifting things around.

Not to say anything bad about your writing, because even when you were awful, I can't imagine you being AWFUL, but isn't that one of the amazing things about a place like ff.net, where there have been fics posted that I thought were truly dreadful--bad grammar, bad characterizations, bad writing style, each chapter only 300 words (for one who completely adores the form of a drabble, I have a very strong prejudice against short stories that are less than 1000 words....) and yet, they are full of apparently sincere praise. Mindboggling to say the least.

And if you ever feel the urge to think that DB sucks, you come talk to me, and I'll get rid of those thoughts for you!

[identity profile] shirerain.livejournal.com 2004-01-24 09:56 am (UTC)(link)
I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one idiot enough to do that. :) When I read the first chapters of my Epic Frodo-fic now, I shudder. I was clearly still feeling my way around the place - my ideas are sound, it's just the way I put it into words that rankle me. I've been thinking 'rewrite this or you will never be satisfied', for a while now. But rewriting lies before me like Mt Doom. But being the perfectionist that I am, I'll do it (and despise myself while I do). I mean, I angst about keeping as close to book-canon as I can - I really don't need to feel the urge to rewrite parts of it. I've been writing for almost two years now - it's long and complicated (527 pages by last count) and not near the end (the Ring is not even destroyed, yet). So yeah, I feel your pain.

Good luck!