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Q&A I wrote a book, but changed my mind on the ending

The whole book needs to be restructured. At least the way I write (more of a discovery writer), a new book would have to be written with the ending in mind. I would keep the old book for refer...

posted 7y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-19T22:13:09Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30285
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T07:01:21Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30285
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T07:01:21Z (almost 5 years ago)
> The whole book needs to be restructured.

At least the way I write (more of a discovery writer), a new book would have to be written with the ending in mind. I would keep the old book for reference (I presume I have infinite disk space and never throw anything away anyway); mostly for some hard-crafted descriptions, word choices and even dialogue.

But I would start from the beginning. No matter how one writes, scenes grow from previous circumstances and should feel mostly inevitable. They shouldn't contain much of anything that doesn't contribute to the story. If I really could just go back and rewrite 25% of a story and get a completely different ending, that means 75% of what I wrote **had no impact on the story** , and to me that is unacceptable writing.

Start over. The old book is a bin of parts you might be able to use or adapt. By starting over you don't have to re-use old characters and scenes, you can invent new ones purpose-fit. Brainstorm about the main characters, then the supporting roles. If you are compelled to change the ending, you must have realized something, at least subconsciously: Figure out what your story was **_really_** about, in more concrete terms, and start over.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-09-19T16:51:51Z (about 7 years ago)
Original score: 1