Writers write. A lot. And a lot of those words don’t end up getting used in final scenes. They’re locked up in stories and scenes and first drafts that never see the light of day. They’re cut or put away and forgotten. And a while ago Copyblogger had an interesting post on recycling creative content that made me think.
Over the period of about the last ten years, I’ve written a lot of stories set in the same universe about the same characters. Short things, middle length things, long things. And I never noticed that with some connective tissue put in between them and some minor changes in POV and such, a lot of those things could be reworked into a larger piece like maybe a novella/novel.
Have you ever done that? Reworked your own work into something else?
I write everything down because you never know when it will be used! I have done this a lot, and then gone back into my bag of tricks and said "Hey I think I already had an idea that would fit perfectly" and going back to my saved little pieces I find it and complete the scene.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful when you even impress yourself?
I don't have a lot of deleted work with the same characters. I have never successfully used deleted scene(s)/false starts into something new. I find them on my computer occasionally, and usually realize they were deleted or abandoned for a reason. They suck.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have definitely used notes/ideas from my old notebooks of ideas and started something new.
Oh yeah! My first novel was YA fantasy. I didn't query it much (15 agents), though I did land a partial then full request for it. I put it aside to work on a YA urban fantasy then decided the rework the first book as YA UF (modern setting). This resulted in some big changes because of the changes of time period. I never ended up querying it because I switched genre again to YA suspense. I recently took a subplot from the novel (which wasn't in the first version) and have created an outline for a YA romantic suspense from it.
ReplyDeleteTalk about recycling. Of course, it bares little resemblance to the first book. If the two books were ever published, no one would realize how the two were linked. :D
Actually I am. A new idea has been brewing in my head since december. I just didn't know where I wanted to set it and how old I wanted the characters to be. I thought of a certain age but it didn't feel right. Then after recent trip I remembered a story I wrote long ago. The setting was perfect and the age group of the MCs fit. So I took some of the scenes from that and merged the new story. I did that in my head--now I have to write it.
ReplyDeleteIt's so strange how things work out. I try to write everything down.
HAve a great weekend!
I have a deleted folder for all of my works, where anything I cut that I was really in love with gets saved. I haven't used any yet, but maybe one day.
ReplyDeleteI have found myself using ideas I'd had for Roulette - that didn't make it - in the snips I'm writing for the sequels.
i do indeed recycle. I have a lot of fan fiction and short stories that will never see the light of day, but still have a few good moments
ReplyDeleteI have a deletes folder too. Sometimes I use those again. The dream sequence I cut in my first novel has given me an idea for another short story; when I have the time to write it.
ReplyDelete.........dhole
I've done it the other way. I write a novel, and have tried to rework the beginning into a short story.
ReplyDeleteSome writers are like you, where all of the characters seem to inhabit the same world. Cynthia Leitich Smith is like that w/ her fantasy books. And Carl Hiassan seems to do the same thing.
I save everything on my computer. You never know...
That's interesting that you say that because I did that exact thing with my current WIP. It's so funny how that works!
ReplyDeleteI delete a lot, but haven't found a place for those deletions...yet.
ReplyDeleteI have never used my deleted work to date. It is an interesting concept. I think I will have to revisit that dead folder and see what there is to see.
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet.
ReplyDeleteIn a few instances I have: smaller pieces that I was not satisfied with and that put into a different context worked much better.
ReplyDeleteWaste not, want not. :)
Good point! Yes, I steal ruthlessly from older pieces, especially ones I know I'll never finish. It's very rewarding to pick up something and make it into something else—as they say on the cooking channel, to "elevate it."
ReplyDeleteHappy writing weekend to you!
—Portia
I've done some reworking on shorter stuff, but this is a good idea for charactes, setting, etc.
ReplyDeleteI do make sure to hold on to all of my deleted work, but so far I haven't used any of my old work in current WIPs. You never know when the day will come, though :]
ReplyDelete