Completely Reworking a Story

[PrettyLilPussy]

I'm seriously considering reworking a few of my earliest stories. My writing has grown a lot since I originally began writing and they are peppered with errors. But the main reason, is the genre they were originally published in is no longer in my "kink-wheelhouse" so to speak and they just feel problematic.

Has anyone ever kept the bare bones of their story but updated the characters? I'm not sure if a simple edit will work or i should just completely remove and resubmit?

All advice appreciated!

 

[NotWise]

Has anyone ever kept the bare bones of their story but updated the characters? I'm not sure if a simple edit will work or i should just completely remove and resubmit?

I removed a story after it went where I didn't want it.

If you edit your story to make the changes, then your story will not appear on Lit as a new story. It won't reappear in the category hub or the New list.

If you have extensive changes to make, then I think you're probably better off taking the stories down, making the changes, and resubmitting them as new.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm seriously considering reworking a few of my earliest stories. My writing has grown a lot since I originally began writing and they are peppered with errors. But the main reason, is the genre they were originally published in is no longer in my "kink-wheelhouse" so to speak and they just feel problematic.

Has anyone ever kept the bare bones of their story but updated the characters? I'm not sure if a simple edit will work or i should just completely remove and resubmit?

All advice appreciated!

This is hard to answer in the abstract. It sounds like your revisions will be substantial. Why not just change all the names and write new stories based on similar ideas? I don't think anyone will object. They're your stories. Don't delete the old ones, just write new ones.

 

[PrettyLilPussy]

This is hard to answer in the abstract. It sounds like your revisions will be substantial. Why not just change all the names and write new stories based on similar ideas? I don't think anyone will object. They're your stories. Don't delete the old ones, just write new ones.

I think I want the old ones gone regardless but i do love some parts of them and want to salvage that. If that makes sense?

 

[Voboy]

My feeling is that there has to be a point when a creative work is “done,” and publication is that point for a book or a story. For example, I HATE the changes that George Lucas made to Star Wars for the 1997 rerelease, and not just because they’re needless. They also violate the principle that art is ever “done.” The film was finished in 1977; if it wasn’t, he shouldn’t have released it.

I think public art is finished at some point, or else it shouldn’t be public. If you want to keep making changes to your art, keep it to yourself. Because as soon as you release it, others will learn to like it. Going back and altering it later does their opinion a disservice.

It’s just a free opinion; it’s worth what someone pays for it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I think I want the old ones gone regardless but i do love some parts of them and want to salvage that. If that makes sense?

Write new material, don't futz with the old stuff, I reckon. Otherwise you just end up writing the same story over and over again, and how do you learn from that? Your best piece is the one you haven't written yet, not the last one. Move on, don't go back.

 

[JasonClearwater]

I'm seriously considering reworking a few of my earliest stories. My writing has grown a lot since I originally began writing and they are peppered with errors. But the main reason, is the genre they were originally published in is no longer in my "kink-wheelhouse" so to speak and they just feel problematic.

Has anyone ever kept the bare bones of their story but updated the characters? I'm not sure if a simple edit will work or i should just completely remove and resubmit?

All advice appreciated!

I started doing the same with one or two of my older stories. I'll finish it one day.
What I've done is taken some of the information that fleshed out the character later in the series, and put it up front, so the reader can better understand the character's motivation from the start. And then also altered his victims' behaviour (it's a non-con series).

The only thing I'd say is that the call to write something new is stronger than the call to rework something you've already created, which to me makes it feel more like a chore, rather than fun at times. A task you've set yourself, rather than something you're creatively driven to do.

But, I do understand the pull to clean something up to better align with your
kinks/character motivations or your evolving feelings on a certain topic.

 

[nosebone]

I'm seriously considering reworking a few of my earliest stories. My writing has grown a lot since I originally began writing and they are peppered with errors. But the main reason, is the genre they were originally published in is no longer in my "kink-wheelhouse" so to speak and they just feel problematic.

Has anyone ever kept the bare bones of their story but updated the characters? I'm not sure if a simple edit will work or i should just completely remove and resubmit?

All advice appreciated!

I resubmitted a few stories of mine a couple of weeks ago. I did not completely rework them, just cleaned up grammar and such. They went up and replaced the originals. If you're going to majorly overhaul, I'd do as others have suggested. Delete the old give the new one a fresh chance.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I wonder how many people read the older stories on this site. Did the they concentrate on the newest material submitted?

Of course your decisions about your own work will depend on issues besides the size of the audience. I've been looking at some work I did maybe seven or eight years ago but never submitted to any site. However that was my first attempt at fiction. If I was going to submit any of that now it looks like it would require a lot of overhaul.

 

[JasonClearwater]

I wonder how many people read the older stories on this site. Did the they concentrate on the newest material submitted?

Of course your decisions about your own work will depend on issues besides the size of the audience. I've been looking at some work I did maybe seven or eight years ago but never submitted to any site. However that was my first attempt at fiction. If I was going to submit any of that now it looks like it would require a lot of overhaul.

Before I started writing here, I didn't even realise there was a 'latest stories' page and just opened pages in categories at random looking for story descriptions that appealed. And now the tags portal exists... I'd say, while the newer stories are going to get higher reads, it's not death after those first few days.

For me (and maybe the OP?), it's more a case of, if people read my newer work and then take a look at my earlier work, are they going to see work I'm proud of. And the answer is, currently, not so much.

 

[_Lynn_]

Write new material, don't futz with the old stuff, I reckon. Otherwise you just end up writing the same story over and over again, and how do you learn from that? Your best piece is the one you haven't written yet, not the last one. Move on, don't go back.

Ditto.

 

[Captainnumnuts]

I've seen the end result being published multiple times under the same author.

I'm thinking if you want to rework them, then do it in a manner that reflects the intended category. Then retitle it before submitting it on this site.

Yes, I have kept bare bones of a story and reworked it for updates to be used as another story OR provide a different version in another genre. (Example. "Jack and Jill" vs "Jack and Jill XXX"

 

[PrettyLilPussy]

I wonder how many people read the older stories on this site. Did the they concentrate on the newest material submitted?/QUOTE]

I would say quite a lot. I still get the most feedback/emails on my first (and arguably) worst story. Just because of the subject matter.

 

[PrettyLilPussy]

Thank you all for your thoughts! It was very appreciated

 

[Captainnumnuts]

Before I started writing here, I didn't even realise there was a 'latest stories' page and just opened pages in categories at random looking for story descriptions that appealed. And now the tags portal exists... I'd say, while the newer stories are going to get higher reads, it's not death after those first few days.

For me (and maybe the OP?), it's more a case of, if people read my newer work and then take a look at my earlier work, are they going to see work I'm proud of. And the answer is, currently, not so much.

Of course they will Jason. At least the more observant ones will. We all change and evolve as we age. It reflects itself in our writings.

 

[49greg]

I have read at least one author here on Lit that has redone a story, but left the original unchanged and still on their story list. The new story having a tag line something like: "Alternate version of story XYZ".

It's been a while but I do remember reading both and liking both. Can't remember the author name or story names, but I THINK the story was about a lady real estate agent who does the nasty while showing a house. I just can't swear to that being true. I blame time, old age, and Lipitor for not remembering the specifics.

I thought at the time, and even now, that if I ever want to do a radical change to a story - ie. more than just correcting typos and spelling corrections - I'd do it that way.

 

[Hypoxia]

I rewrote one story to address issues that prompted a complaint and removal. Then the original was restored. Then I rewrote it again as a new story that totally flipped its conceits. They're all up now, with their own comment trains.

Other than that, I figure that when a piece is done, it's done. Move on to other stuff. I write fucking *pr0n* here, not Melville-level deathless literature. Yes, my early stuff isn't what I'd like now. Big deal. If and when I write again, I'll write better, not looking back.

A totally rewritten story is a new story. Live with it.

 

[PrettyLilPussy]

Maybe I wasn't as clear as I could have been. My problems with the stories are bigger than poor writing. I'm clear that I write smut and I certainly have no illusions of grandeur. But since we are working in a medium (Lit) that allows you to re-purpose something that either you aren't very proud of or find problematic, I think taking advantage of that is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Hypoxia]

Maybe I wasn't as clear as I could have been. My problems with the stories are bigger than poor writing. I'm clear that I write smut and I certainly have no illusions of grandeur. But since we are working in a medium (Lit) that allows you to re-purpose something that either you aren't very proud of or find problematic, I think taking advantage of that is not necessarily a bad thing.

They're your stories to do with as you wish. Remove any you don't want seen for any reason, no problem; I had reason to take down all my poems. Make lesser or greater changes to a posted story; I've made significant edits to a couple pieces that demanded correction.

But I leave up even my earliest, most embarrassing stories, because I like to know where I've been, and I value all the comments and votes. I can see writing new versions with significant reworkings of some, but I'd post those as new pieces, with their originals up for comparison. Yes, you could submit a massive edit for a new version, but that isn't what readers commented and voted on, is it?

Now, unless I've committed some major fuckup, I figure that when I'm done, I'm done. On to the future.

 

[LOAnnie2]

I've rewritten a few of my stories and have gone both ways with it. Two of my stories I just replaced them in wholesale here, the originals are no longer available anywhere that I've posted them. The other, I haven't posted here but I'd be tempted to leave the original in place and ask that the rewrite be posted as a different story.

 

[briacon429]

I agree with the posters on this thread. It’s your story— do what you want with it! I feel like I’m always growing as a writer, so it’s perfectly normal to look back at something you’ve written in the past & think you could’ve done it better. I’ve re-written entire novels for exactly that reason.

There’s also no shame in recycling your own stories. Back in the seventies, Michael Crichton wrote “Westworld” (the original movie, not the TV show) about a high-tech theme park where everything goes terribly wrong and the park’s attractions run amok. About 10-15 years later, he re-used the exact same premise for “Jurassic Park”!

Oh, and Alfred Hitchcock made a remake of his own movie “The Man Who Knew Too Much”. Even Shakespeare liked to copy himself here and there (and most of his works weren’t original to begin with) and he’s one of the greatest writers who ever lived....