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Q&A How can I edit my own, very old work?

There are three aspects to consider: The plot The characters The writing If you want to know if the project is worth pursuing at all, read the entire thing from scratch. Furthermore, read it an...

posted 12y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:05Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4883
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 · 2019-12-08T02:10:00Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4883
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T02:10:00Z (over 4 years ago)
There are three aspects to consider:

- The plot
- The characters
- The writing

If you want to know if the project is worth pursuing at all, read the entire thing from scratch. Furthermore, read it and try to pretend you aren't the author. Now:

- Do you like it? Do you like the premise? When you're done, do you want to know what happens next?
- Do you like the characters? Do you care for the people you've been reading about? Do you understand them? Do they feel real?
- Do you like how it's written? For the most part, does the prose work?

If you enjoyed the story as a story, and not as _your_ story, then it's worth fixing.

If you hate the construction (the writing), break it back down into an outline, save the few sparkling sentences, throw it out, and start over. Yes, it will be a lot of work. If writing were easy, people would take up poetry for a summer job instead of flipping burgers at McDonald's.

If you don't like the plot, write up detailed studies of your characters and find something else for them to do. Throw out this book and write a different one.

If you don't like the characters, figure out what the original purpose of the story was and tell it some other way.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2012-01-25T01:03:55Z (over 12 years ago)
Original score: 9