What is the custom on re-writes?

[mikey2much]

I wrote a story some time back and posted it in loving wives. A few readers left me some very good advice and I tried to take it and apply it to the story. To me it worked and made the story better but when I took it down and replaced it with the new and improved version I got complaints from some readers about having read it before.

I like the story and I want to go back and change it again and post in the horror section instead of the 'Loving Wives where it lives today. I would like to avoid annoying any readers but at the same time, the story is worth the effort.

My questions are as follows,

Is this a sign of a bad writer to keep going back and reworking an old story instead of starting a new one. And also will I be able to escape the trolls in loving wives and give the story a chance in erotic horror?

The story is the Last Hitchhiker and it is better than the 3.77 it now carries, and will be even better after the changes I want to make.

 

[SamScribble]

I wrote a story some time back and posted it in loving wives. A few readers left me some very good advice and I tried to take it and apply it to the story. To me it worked and made the story better but when I took it down and replaced it with the new and improved version I got complaints from some readers about having read it before.

I like the story and I want to go back and change it again and post in the horror section instead of the 'Loving Wives where it lives today. I would like to avoid annoying any readers but at the same time, the story is worth the effort.

My questions are as follows,

Is this a sign of a bad writer to keep going back and reworking an old story instead of starting a new one. And also will I be able to escape the trolls in loving wives and give the story a chance in erotic horror?

The story is the Last Hitchhiker and it is better than the 3.77 it now carries, and will be even better after the changes I want to make.

It depends on how you value the feedback. If you feel the feedback is a useful way to improve your skills, then take it on board, tweak and repost. On the other hand, if you feel inclined to ignore your 'critics', then ignore them. And do whatever you feel YOU would like to do. Not all of the people who leave comments leave comments worth considering. Good luck.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I wrote a story some time back and posted it in loving wives. A few readers left me some very good advice and I tried to take it and apply it to the story. To me it worked and made the story better but when I took it down and replaced it with the new and improved version I got complaints from some readers about having read it before.

You can avoid this by using the instructions in the FAQ to edit the story, rather than deleting it and posting as a new story.

On the other hand, if you think the new one is a big improvement and you want fresh eyes on it, posting as new might be a better option. If you do this, it's a good idea to put a note at the start of the story mentioning that this is a rewrite. When I see a story that seems very familiar, it leaves me wondering whether it's been plagiarised from somebody else - best to avoid that doubt.

I like the story and I want to go back and change it again and post in the horror section instead of the 'Loving Wives where it lives today. I would like to avoid annoying any readers but at the same time, the story is worth the effort.

My questions are as follows,

Is this a sign of a bad writer to keep going back and reworking an old story instead of starting a new one. And also will I be able to escape the trolls in loving wives and give the story a chance in erotic horror?

Just about anywhere will be kinder than LW. Nothing wrong with reworking as long as you don't get obsessive about it. Another option is to 'fork' the story and have two different versions out - I've seen authors post "his perspective" and "her perspective" versions of the same story, that sort of thing.

 

[lovecraft68]

It doesn't make you a bad writer if you've improved to the point you now see all your mistakes in an older piece. That means you're a better writer now.

My first two pieces here are horrible grammar wise, just bad. I think about editing them, but end up leaving them alone as a reminder that I've come a long way. That and seeing they are old stories an edited version won't really help them score wise they are 4 years old no one is looking at them anyway

But one thing to be wary of is over editing. If you were to look at the same story once every couple of weeks you would constantly keep finding things to change so at some point you have to say "Its fine" and move on.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

When I was 19 I set up my easel and painted a picture. Everyone who came along offered advice to improve it; I was a sweetheart back then and embraced every suggestion. The paint slid off the canvas and fell on the floor. At that point no one was happy with the painting.

The road to ruin is paved with good attitudes and good intentions.

 

[LastLostIdols]

You wont always be able to please everyone, if ever you do manage that. Then please let me know your secret. As JBJ said if you try to please everyone, you'll only fail and annoy everyone. You have to pick and choose who & what you listen to.

All in all you really have to do what's best for progressing yourself as a writer. The readers come second, you come first.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

It doesn't make you a bad writer if you've improved to the point you now see all your mistakes in an older piece. That means you're a better writer now.

My first two pieces here are horrible grammar wise, just bad. I think about editing them, but end up leaving them alone as a reminder that I've come a long way. That and seeing they are old stories an edited version won't really help them score wise they are 4 years old no one is looking at them anyway

But one thing to be wary of is over editing. If you were to look at the same story once every couple of weeks you would constantly keep finding things to change so at some point you have to say "Its fine" and move on.

You caught on quick. PATIENTLEE, too. If we could only cure the two of you of being assholes what a wonderful world it would be.

 

[mikey2much]

Thanks for your input

Thanks guys or girls as the case may be. I understand what you are telling me about self doubt, that is not the problem. The advice was good.

In my story a hitchhiker is picked up by a married couple and the hitchhiker is invited to enjoy the wife while the husband drives. In the first version I stayed inside the hitchhiker's head. The comment was that the couple was the most interesting people in the story and that I should flesh them out more. Now, as the story reads, the married couple's problems are more a part of the story and they share the main roles with the hitchhiker. The husbands pain of not being able to satisfy his wife and the building resentment each time he submits to her wishes is more fully realized. The wife's outlook that she needs a man and her husband, while a nice man. just doesn't cut the mustard anymore. She loves him but she has decided to take control for her own selfish needs. The hitchhiker is more or less a focus of their own previous problems and pays the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I like the story now but when I read it I am more aware of my use of some words when others would better say what I want to say. I seem to have a problem with authority, always have, and now I seem to butt heads with the underage thing in my stories. I do not do this as part of the tale that I am telling but rather as a background to explain how the players came to become who they are. So now I find that I seek refinement and improved skills here at Lit and find my stories being posted over at SOL.

I much prefer the readers and writers here at Lit, and it is here that I try to improve my skills. I would not ask anyone for writing help over there.

thanks for the help and I will let you know when the new and improved Hitchhiker hits the new story list.

 

[JKendallDane]

I like the story and I want to go back and change it again and post in the horror section instead of the 'Loving Wives where it lives today. I would like to avoid annoying any readers but at the same time, the story is worth the effort.

I think making changes and popping up the same story for a third time as "new" is asking for ugly backlash. I've done a pull down and total rewrite on two different series and caught a little hell even though neither were completed originally. (I couldn't just do a "simple edit" as a pen name change was also involved.)

Another option is to 'fork' the story and have two different versions out - I've seen authors post "his perspective" and "her perspective" versions of the same story, that sort of thing.

I have to agree with Bram. Change up the story enough (add or delete characters, new plot twists, totally different introduction, etc.) and plop it in EH like you want. Maybe even consider a slight change to the title so to differentiate the two versions.

For certain...keep it out of the LW snake pit!

 

[wws_wws]

Maybe it's bad form but I re-posted a few times to clean up the story, add a bit more details, set up a few details foreshadowing what's to come. Just put "REPLACE" in the title. So far, there's been no comments about the changes I've made.

 

[49greg]

I would do as others have advised, just post as a new story, just note that it is an alternate version.

I'm thinking of doing that myself for a chapter that even I don't like.

 

[JKendallDane]

Maybe it's bad form but I re-posted a few times to clean up the story, add a bit more details, set up a few details foreshadowing what's to come. Just put "REPLACE" in the title. So far, there's been no comments about the changes I've made.

There is a big difference though between doing an "edit" and completely resubmitting a story as new.

 

[wws_wws]

There is a big difference though between doing an "edit" and completely resubmitting a story as new.

Gotcha.