Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Reworking Old Stories #IWSG

IWSG Question of the month: Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out? I have. No it didn't work out. It was too easy to stick with what was already there and reshape that, rather than completely pull it apart to bring it back together again. I may try again another time, but the characters need a major overhaul, which in turn will change the story dramatically.

Big announcement: The IWSG Twitter Pitch Party!
 Hashtag #IWSGPit

July 27, 2017, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Time

All writers and authors are invited to participate in our very first Twitter Pitch. Create a Twitter-length pitch for your completed and polished manuscript and leave room for genre, age, and the hashtag. On July 27, Tweet your pitch. If your pitch receives a favorite/heart from a publisher/agent check their submission guidelines and send your requested query. Many writers have seen their books published from a Twitter pitch - it’s a quick and easy way to put your manuscript in front of publishers and agents.

We invite all of you to join us that day! Authors with a publisher or agent, please ask if they would like to participate or pass along their contact information to the IWSG. We intend for this to be a twice yearly event, July and January, giving our members a great opportunity for publication. Help us spread the word!

Also: We have two new items on the IWSG swag page, including a cool eraser. Check them out and support the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

And lastly, I'd like to leave you with a pic of a sunrise I caught one morning.
Happy writing everyone!


75 comments:

Ronel Janse van Vuuren said...

Reworking a story is much harder than simply rewriting it - though, telling myself I'm simply rewriting it makes it go a lot easier ;-)
The Twitter pitch party sounds awesome!

dolorah said...

I have a project I keep working at; I think I use it to experiment with all my learned writing techniques. I'd love to think I might someday actually rewrite that first chapter and submit it.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's one of those rays from Heaven shots. Excellent!
Sometimes taking a story in a new direction works well.
Ready to rock the Twitter pitch in July.

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...

Some of my old stories pop up when I'm searching my computer for other files and I give them another edit or slip a tidbit of the information into another project. The Twitter pitch is a great idea.

Pat Garcia said...

Lynda, thank you so much for mentioning the twitter pitch. I'm going to be traveling then but I will participate.
And I am still enjoying my nightly devotional from your book. You touch things that give me so much encouragement.
Thank you.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat

The Cynical Sailor said...

That's a gorgeous sunrise. Great way to start the morning :-) Cheers - Ellen

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Beautiful sunrise. I need to catch one of ours soon.

I was going to revise the story I'm working on now, but it's been easier to rewrite it. First version had a lot of plot holes.

Cathrina Constantine said...

Beautiful Sunrise! I've entered a few Twitter Pitch Parties, they are fun, especially if your pitch gets a little heart!!!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Love your beautiful picture. And that's awesome that the group is having a Twitter Pitch party.

DEZMOND said...

is it still very awfully horribly hot Down Under?

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I think that's a great point about actually pulling apart that old story versus only revising it.

Gorgeous photo!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I have tried to that and it's a ton of work. So excited that you're hosting a pitch! Very cool...

Pat Hatt said...

Sometimes one has to pull it apart to get it back together indeed. Great shot too!

Crystal Collier said...

Beautiful sunrise!

I've participated in a Twitter pitch before. Had a few interested publishers who frankly scared the dickens out of me. It was definitely a learning experience though. =)

Bish Denham said...

Love the picture. For me, reworking an old idea that has potential is almost like starting with something new. It's something I enjoy.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Lynda - enjoying the sun ups and sun downs ... but reworking an old idea is definitely not the easiest ... good luck with your re-write ... cheers Hilary

Lynn J Simpson said...

I pulled out a couple of stories just recently to re-work, although one of them I could just try submitting again as is a polished piece! I'm wondering if I should just start over with the other one and maybe so! Lovely sunrise!

emaginette said...

Not all stories are meant to be pulled from under the bed or back of the closet. Knowing you've grown, I'm is more than enough.

Thanks for the sunrise. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

That is a beautiful sunset. We've had a few of them here lately. Excited about that Twitter pitch.

S.P. Bowers said...

Beautiful picture.

That's my worry about re-working old stories. That It'll be too easy to just dust it off and add a layer of shine, rather than taking the time to build from the foundation up.

Victoria Marie Lees said...

Now that's my trouble sometimes, Lynda. I need to take the idea and begin again. I can't wait until I complete a full-length novel to be able to pitch on twitter or anywhere.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

So much harder! Thanks, Ronel

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Maybe one day you will.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Glad you like the pic.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I keep all my old stories too. Some I'm not game to edit.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Best wishes for the twitter pitch!!
And thank you. I'm so glad you are getting a lot of encouragement from my book.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I've been seeing a lot of sunrises lately.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

It's easier to catch sunrises in the summer.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Gotta love those little hearts!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thanks, Natalie

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

It hasn't gone below 30 degrees Celsius since I moved here. I think I'm actually used to the heat! It's been the hottest summer on record. lol.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Revising so is much harder than simply rewriting.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yep, it's more work than I had realised.
I'm looking forward to the twitter pitch.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thanks, Pat

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

lol, I had a chuckle at the publishers who scared you. Twitter pitches are lots of fun.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yes, it can be lots of fun when you get it right and the story starts to shine.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thanks, Hilary

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Starting over is a lot easier. Best wishes for the one you can submit again.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

You make an excellent point. Those older stories definitely show how much we've grown as writers.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I'm excited too.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yep, and it's the foundation that matters the most.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Best wishes for finishing!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Beautiful sunrise!!!
I actually like taking out old stories and re-spinning them - but it usually requires an entire new writing session with the old draft just sitting on the side as idea material.

Unknown said...

Sorry your old story refused to cooperate and become a new story. I have a lousy memory, so it's easy for me to find and use new ideas. lol

Chemist Ken said...

That's the trouble with old stories. You try to fix one part and you end up exposing problems elsewhere.

The Twitter pitch sounds great. Too bad I don't have a completed and polished manuscript ready to go yet.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yep, that's a much better way of doing it.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

hahaha lucky you and your lousy memory ;)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I'm sure we will be doing the twitter pitch again some time.

Denise Covey said...

Hey just stopping to say hi. I know you're super busy writing sci-fi and working on MY projects, LOL, so I won't keep you. Have rare wifi so making the most of it...:-)

Juneta key said...

Beautiful photo. That is a temptation to just rework what is there and sometimes I have found that okay because what was there wasn't that bad just needed tweaking, but other times you are right it needs total demolition.

Happy IWSG Belated Day!
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

Mark said...

Definitely an issue I've dealt with myself. Wish I had a good answer. So many stories I want to rework, but if it's not fresh for me, it won't be fresh for the reader.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Hahahaha. Hi Denise. Go back to enjoying your holiday!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

The ones that just need tweaking are great.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Too true about freshness!

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

A beautiful sunrise. Rewriting an old story isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I've been working on one for quite a while. Maybe it will turn out good; maybe not.

Toi Thomas said...

What a lovely sunrise.
Rewriting an old story can be scarier than creating a new one. The idea of putting so much time and effort into it can also be frustrating if it doesn't work out.
The pitch party sounds really cool.

DMS said...

Beautiful sunrise!

I have reworked an old short story, but nothing longer than that. :)
~Jess

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

It can be like that sometimes :)
Best wishes for your story.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I enjoy the process so I probably get less frustrated, but it can be frustrating still.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Short stories are a lot easier to work with.

H. R. Sinclair said...

What a gorgeous sunrise! That's inspirational. :)

Carol Kilgore said...

Love the sunrise! I've reworked one older manuscript. Probably won't do that again, even though it did turn into a book. Cool that IWSG is having a pitch party.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thanks, Holly

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yeah, reworking an older manuscript isn't as easy as it sounds.

Theresa Milstein said...

Ooo, a twitter pitch party! I have got to learn how to make my manuscripts sound exciting in 140 characters.

Nas said...

Awesome about the pitch party.

Crystal Collier said...

They are. But you know, when the publisher has a really poor website and the covers for their books make you wonder if they use Microsoft Word to edit images... Yeah, that kind of scared.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

If nothing else, it's good practice.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yes indeed

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Ooooh, yeah, ok. Now I understand. It's always important to check out the publisher first. Not all publishers are equal.

Blue Grumpster said...

Have a wonderful weekend, Lynda :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

You too, Mr Blue

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

In the next few days I'm going to sink my teeth back into an old ms from 2010. I'm embarrassed that I haven't finished it yet. The weight has been sitting on my shoulders. The pitch idea sounds interesting. Looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Best wishes for delving into your old manuscript.

Dawn Simon said...

I'm currently revising a ms I wrote a few years ago, and it was much trickier for me at first, to REALLY pull the ms apart. Now, however, I'm drafts into it, and it's like revising other mss I've worked on. I'm excited about the new version. Wish me luck on it! :)

The pitch party sounds great!