Dilemmas When Writing (and Rewriting)

[NatAberdeen]

I go through these kinds of dilemmas pretty often. I have something all written and planned out with a few outlier plot points and characters I haven't really intertwined through the whole plot, then I think of a great idea of how to integrate them but a lot of rewriting would have to be done otherwise. (Like my one character Tristan. He was a plot point for one chapter and a minor character in the ones before it, but didn't appear anytime afterwards. That is, until I thought of a thorough way to weave him in at the risk of dropping a few other points and characters I like.)

So some discussion questions are: Have you ever gone through these dilemmas? What do you do when it happens? Is it worth it to sacrifice a character you like to save the plot? What about sacrificing a bit of writing you like to save the sense a story makes? Just because you can do something, should you?

[NickRowler]

I had some issues during one rewrite which I wanted to change a bunch of character from 12 and 13 to 9 and 10. However I forgot that I had a flashback that took place 12 years in the past where one of the kids appeared as a baby. I couldn't change it to be a flashback from 10 years ago because it mess up everyone's ages. It meant the character had to stay 13 and the part about him having a crush on the girl was removed due to her being aged down to 9.

I have also had character that I cut out due to them not adding much.

I have also had character who pop up but never appear again due to their plot line being cut.

[Seaby]

It depends on whether it adds to your story. If it's sort of meaningless and the reader won't read into it too much, then it's not necessary to change things around and rewrite like crazy. If your story is missing that one puzzle piece that adds cohesion and will be worse without it, then you should include it no matter if you have to switch out some older chapters and add in more info. What counts as what is something you'll have to decide as it appears.
I personally stand by writing out your entire work before you ever post it so that these problems don't affect the canon that the reader is familiar with. That way you have more time and flexibility to change what you want and keep in your favorite characters as well as the necessary plot points.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Have you ever gone through these dilemmas?

Yes. All the time. Right down to the very second I post a finished chapter of a story online... 6v6

What do you do when it happens?

Weigh options. Try things. If you really think a story might work better if written a different way, jump in and try writing it the new way. At least outline some prospective scenes. I've deleted dozens of pages of script in favor of new directions that turned out better than I hoped; it happens to me all the time. To be honest, it really just keeps happening until I get a story I'm more or less satisfied with.

Is it worth it to sacrifice a character you like to save the plot?

Definitely. It hurts, but no single character is more important than their story. They can always be moved to a new project; no sense destroying the existing one for their sake.

What about sacrificing a bit of writing you like to save the sense a story makes?

See the above. This actually hurts worse than removing a problematic character; cool characters and events and names are nice, but when I fall in love with the way I've written something I fall HARD.

Still, there are more important things. If nothing else, you can save the old writing in an old file, and resume work in a new file. I'm doing something similar with a novel I'm trying to rewrite; the first draft was borderline nonsensical, but the writing in it was so good I can't bear to delete it. It's just gonna stay in my computer. ^^;

Just because you can do something, should you?

Well, obviously, no. But with art, it's hard to tell whether you're editing to improve or just editing for editing's sake...usually, the way I figure out whether I'm actually making progress is by determining how close I'm getting to a concrete ending.

There's a comic I'm scripting right now; it's been chopped up and rewritten and half-deleted over and over. But I'm definitely closer to the ending than I ever was before. Just keep swimming~

[thedude3445]

Not really a dilemma for me, at least in revision; I love doing macro-level revision with polishing up plot points, rearranging stuff, enhancing the little details about characters by adding in tiny subplots, or even deleting/creating wholly new characters. It's like a puzzle but with story structure!

[Ardelvion]

Have you ever gone through these dilemmas?

Yup, I've been there. It's also what I had been working on for my upcoming webcomic strip where I have to include the main character (Aaron) and two supporting characters. I think now is the right time to introduce them instead just focusing on the main characters (Aaron and Riley).

What do you do when it happens?

I'd try to give them equal spotlight in each webcomic strip by finding another story to make.

Is it worth it to sacrifice a character you like to save the plot?

Yeah, especially if I have to work with a certain number of panels. My upcoming webcomic strip was supposed to be 20 panels long just to give Aaron enough appearance, but I felt the story would still make sense if I had to cut down panels and if I were to cut down Aaron's role in the story.

What about sacrificing a bit of writing you like to save the sense a story makes?

Well, it allows me to create new character designs or new stories that I didn't have thorough plans for. Like for my upcoming supporting characters, I already have an idea what their hair color and eye color would be, but I didn't plan what their eye shape, face shape, and hair style would look like. Same thing with new stories. Some of them, I already had an idea for the plot, but they're not really complete.

Just because you can do something, should you?

If it's for the sake of telling a story without confusing the readers, then yeah.

[Leverance]

Is it worth it to sacrifice a character you like to save the plot?

In my opinion, yes. However, before removing the character from the plot I would save it elsewhere to later use. What's important for the rewrite that it reads well, the pace flows smoothly, the transitions are kinked out, plot holes are removed etc. Though, if it's a novel, a rewrite will often be multiple times, is rarely only one rewrite is enough.

What about sacrificing a bit of writing you like to save the sense a story makes?

Once I start rewriting Game of Deceit I will remove a lot of things I like from the first version. For us writers 'killing our darlings' is a real thing.

[darthmongoose]

I've learned from experience that sometimes you have to cut content, and it's often actually not bad content you're cutting it's just... not helpful to the story. Comics in particular are so much work per page that if you add a full page to your story to tell a joke and it doesn't also move the plot forward, you can be effectively working about 8+ hours and putting your story profession on hold for a week for a joke. It has to be a bloody amazing joke for that to be value in a story-focused comic.

Characters it's the same because every time you have a character turn up, they need to be introduced, they need to have a role etc. A good example of a character I've largely cut from Errant is Rekki's mother.
In many early drafts, Rekki's mother is also an incredibly powerful knight who turns up frequently as a supporting character. She's a total badass with cool magic and a cool sword, and Rekki has always felt overshadowed by her. But I realised... well... what purpose does this character actually serve that isn't already filled by Rekki's grandmother, Sylvia or Sarin? Most of the scenes in the script with Rekki's mum ended up as purely comic relief fluff, because Rekki's grandmother is better at being "the famous family member you'll never live up to", Sylvia is better at being, "the tired old mentor who wants you to be better than her", and Sarin is the queen of being, "the peer who is more attractive, more woke and ethical and better at your job than you.". It's possible Rekki's mother will appear as a minor character somewhere, but she just isn't needed as a major supporting one. It's a shame because a character who is a typical 55 year old British mum in floral-print blouses who asks her kid if she has a boyfriend yet and if she's eating properly but who also summons magical armour and has a sword is such a fun concept, it's just a concept there isn't room to prominently feature in an already jam-packed comic.

[TheBluester]

Have you ever gone through these dilemmas?
Yep, I think every writer does whether you're a beginner or an experienced one xD

What do you do when it happens?
Well, I personally spend months close to a year planning out the details of my story. Even the smallest seemingly insignificant details of your book/character can prove beneficial to the plot and overall growth of your character! But, usually, when I hit a brick wall. I just look at notes and ideas pertaining to how I was going to originally write a chapter, edit it a little, and then re-work the story to fit the new changes.

Is it worth it to sacrifice a character you like to save the plot?
Of course! Sometimes the death of a character can be better to help the story of the main one. If you're going to kill off a character to save the plot, I say to make it count! Don't let it be for nothing, have the character feel grief and learn something from the death (if the character is that important of course).

What about sacrificing a bit of writing you like to save the sense a story makes?
It's rare that I genuinely like something I've written so when I have to sacrifice it, I get annoyed xD but! If it means that the story flows better and is overall something good and meaningful to the readers then I'll gladly edit or completely throw away the writing ^-^.

Just because you can do something, should you?
No, but that doesn't mean you should give up either. If people spent their entire lives listening to people who said they couldn't do something then nothing would ever get done! Originally, I used to be absolutely terrible at writing and could barely write a sentence. Now? After years of practice, I can finally make a decent plot/decent character arc. Heck, I'm even learning how to draw to hopefully one day turn my book into a comic. The point overall is to keep pushing through and learning, you'll never be better than you are now if you suddenly quit.