Rewrites?

[KindredFlame]

What is the opinion of this forum on rewrites?

1. It was written and should stay as it was, good or bad.
2. A rewrite is ok as long as it looks at a story from a different perspective.
3. An idea based on another story is better than rewriting a story.
4. Don’t care.
5. What was the question.
6 something else.

Please explain your answer if you can.

 

[sirhugs]

I have never done a rewrite, not even of twenty year old stories that low marks.
I find that life does not allow do-overs so why should Lit?

Your mileage may vary.

 

[KimAwakened]

Is there a standard definition of "rewrite"? For me that's where the main problem lies.

I haven't been writing for long but already I find myself having further thoughts about plot lines and characters - and revisiting what I've done. When does amending or embellishing become "rewriting"?

I see nothing wrong with doing this if you think it's adding some extra dimension to the story to make it more satisfying to readers. Where I'd draw the line is messing about with the essential idea of any tale - what this forum is supposed to be about.

Once you do that in any determined way, then surely you might as well start from scratch and make up another story completely.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

6.

As so many things, it has grey areas. It depends.

Your own story
If it's your own story I think it's okay however you do it. Do you change just a few words or basically the whole thing, it matters for you. If it matters to you it is worth considering.

Your change of even a single word can make or break key moments, making it more to your perspective, or even just your own evolved sense of storytelling. You can choose to just upload it anew, or replace the old story. When you want to replace the old story, do consider if your updated vision is worth the effort of third parties. It does take valuable time of the site owners that could be used for other people's stories, or your own new ones. If you still think it's worth the change, go for it. The same is true for a new story, though it requires less effort in many cases.

Other people's stories
This is a much more difficult subject. As the stories here on Lit show, rewriting is done frequently. From a new iteration of Snow-white or another mom on the backseat with son, it is very common practice.

If you're only changing parts of a story you always need explicit acknowledgement of the original writer. Using other people's work is plagiarism, unless it is clear what parts come from your source.

This becomes different if you're making the story your own. Say I just read a story here on the site. I like the idea. Many things can be the same. The amount of people, the names, and the general sense of the story. If you make the full story your own, go ahead.

However, this is a gray-scale as well. It can easily go into plagiarism, and the walls are vague. If I rewrite Lord of the Rings, keeping the same characters and in general lines the overarching story of the Ring, it'll much sooner be deemed plagiarism than if I rewrite "mom and son on the backseat." It is a slippery slope that had best be done conservatively.

I think the difference is the public nature of the stories. LotR is a known classic by a famous author. Snow-white is an old public story without clear source, and has many iterations already. Mom on backseat with son is so generic that few will care.

A way to alleviate scrutiny is to show your sources. If you tell them you were inspired by story xxx and add a link, it is much easier accepted.

TL: DR
Rewrite is a common practice that has many legitimate use cases. It can be a fun experience, using creativity to make something new of something that already exists. I've had a lot of fun reimagining the scene in fight club where the protagonist fights himself in his bosses office as a sexual play for power, where a woman does all kinds of things to herself and plays it off as her boss taking advantage of her the moment the security comes in. I can highly recommend doing such things.

If you doubt about the legitimacy, it is best to thread carefully, or not at all.

 

[KindredFlame]

Thank you for sharing your perspectives on this endeavor; your feedback is greatly encouraging, especially as I reflect on my own progress and wonder if the effort dedicated to improving my writing skills has proven worthwhile—I truly believe I am better at putting words together now than I was before.

This refined ability feels particularly valuable as I look ahead to a deeply meaningful project: reworking some of my mother’s existing writing, the rights for which I proudly own. Moreover, I possess a true treasure trove of anecdotal material in the form of several reams of her captivating, hand-written stories documenting the vibrant details of what she got up to when she was alive, and the prospect of playing with this raw, authentic source material to preserve her voice and legacy is a thrilling undertaking.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm a proponent of re-edits. My writing has improved over time and I have taken the time to go back and just clean things up a bit in a handful of stories. I have stories that could be rewritten, (and maybe should) but I just can't spare the time.

 

[KindredFlame]

I'm a proponent of re-edits. My writing has improved over time and I have taken the time to go back and just clean things up a bit in a handful of stories. I have stories that could be rewritten, (and maybe should) but I just can't spare the time.

I have been cogitating on this and the more I look at it my feelings have already changed as it is in some way a history of growth.

 

[ElectricBlue]

What is the opinion of this forum on rewrites?

1. It was written and should stay as it was, good or bad.
2. A rewrite is ok as long as it looks at a story from a different perspective.
3. An idea based on another story is better than rewriting a story.
4. Don’t care.
5. What was the question.
6 something else.

Please explain your answer if you can.

Write new stories. That way you have more stories, not one story done to death.

 

[Andreas_Kreuz]

I sometimes think how an existing story would read if rewritten with a different focus. I have not done it yet, but I guess it might become a new story very quickly.

 

[KindredFlame]

Yes I think about and then think it is what it is.

 

[Auden James]

Depends on your goals and motivation (as well as definitions to a certain extent)!

If we take "rewrite" to mean a thorough revision of one's finished story (or draft), changing the plot, characterizations, or even the narrative voice, then this can be a worthwhile undertaking. Prime examples from literary history might be Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (reworked for the 1831 edition, the one reprinted today) and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby (reworked and retitled, original draft titled Trimalchio, after the galleys were already sent to Fitzgerald for final proofreading): both novels, as known to us today, are the results of rewriting!

 

[Statius]

I've done 2 series. Mostly for grammar reasons, but also repetitive words use and phrasings I just didn't like anymore. I do my own editing so I miss stuff, especially my early work when I was just slamming out stories. Also to clean up late contradictions I found in the story lines.

 

[CameraGuy2K]

I've experienced this dilemma many times. Rewrite, edit, delete & add, etc. Call it what you will. ... There are stories written that may have interest in another market. There are stories that no one can save, but yet they're out there. There are stories you now believe you can improve upon, but will anyone take the time to re-read it after they've read the original version? You think you've written the perfect screenplay, stage play (whatever), and yet someone or committee sits in judgement of your work and automatically your greatest science-fiction story becomes a love fest with a twist.

To write is to rewrite. It's a fact of life. What can be gained in a rewrite should be the real question. Once we press the "publish" key, there are no more rewrites. That said, why couldn't the story be encapsulated into a longer piece, or the ideas in it be used to support a totally different plot or storyline? One story often leads to another story idea. Be true to your own words, your characters, and your locations. There are always other stories, newer stories, better written by you. There are thousands of words in the language with infinite ways to arrange them to create story. Have some fun. Thank you.

 

[SteelPoint]

Mod, kindly transfer this to AH where they might be interested in discussing it. It is not an idea for a story.

 

[CameraGuy2K]

Mod, kindly transfer this to AH where they might be interested in discussing it. It is not an idea for a story.

My sincere apologies. This was my first experience in the Forums. I must have gotten myself lost among the topics. I believed I was responding to "Rewrites". Thank you for redirecting my response.

 

[dirk2024]

As @Rob_Royale said, editing work to clean up grammar could be a good thing. I have done this with one story and looking to do it for my first story as well.

If you have other content, can that be molded into another story that accomodates the initial story? A part II perhaps?

 

[KindredFlame]

Mod, kindly transfer this to AH where they might be interested in discussing it. It is not an idea for a story.

It is in a round about way. But not a specific story..

 

[sirhugs]

It is in a round about way. But not a specific story..

can you square the circle?

 

[KindredFlame]

Of corse I can if you hit my arse with the strap tomorrow instead of to paddle it will leave a square mark instead of a round one won’t it, now that would make a good story.

 

[Statius]

Of corse I can if you hit my arse with the strap tomorrow instead of to paddle it will leave a square mark instead of a round one won’t it, now that would make a good story.