Start again?

[FreezMilo]

Last night I was writing the new chapter of my story until I stopped and asked myself: ‘Why doesn't this work?’. I knew there was something wrong, but what?

I have always written my stories on the spur of the moment, without planning anything. Which may sound like a very obvious question, but I know that many people here, on this forum, have written or are writing their stories carefully planning what needs to happen in a single chapter and in the rest of the story.

This made me realise my carelessness in what I do. So, moved by a sense of anger, I reread the first chapter. The doubts that had come to me had not sprung up like that, but because there were shortcomings that I had never even realised. So everything I have written up to now was nothing but pure confusion. Of course there are good things and I don't rule them out.

What if I started my story again but with more planning and awareness? At the moment the story has seven chapters published.

I need to understand if anyone else has come across this situation. I am open to any advice, as long as it is sensible and well-reasoned.

[Cute_Kitten]

Very few stories are perfect upon first draft. Many writers, even professionally published big names, write a draft then go back and edit. Heck the pros even have professional editors. My point- if this is your first or rough draft of a story give yourself the grace to make mistakes. 

If you're noticing problems in your story or hitting writer's block, it can help to step back and analyze your story. What are the problems? What isn't working? The key to fixing those problems can be figuring out why it isn't working. 

Break your story into it's component pieces and analyze it, from characters to plot etc. How are the characters? Do they feel flat? Maybe they need some work- what are their personalities? Their hopes, dreams and wants? What stands in their way or blocks them from achieving those goals, wants and desires? How is the plot? Is there a plot or is the story one diapers change after another? What happens in the story? How do the characters feel about the events in the story? How do those events impact them and shape or change them? What do you want to happen in the story?

You don't have to answer all of these. I'm just throwing out some food for thought and giving you some questions you can ask of your story. There are lots of resources for free out there to help you analyze a story. There's a wide variety of How To guides, plot maps and YouTube videos and articles. 

Planning ahead doesn't have to be super detailed. It can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Every writer is different. You can think of them as notes or reminders to keep your writing on track. What works for me is simple concept notes or quick plot and character sketches. These usually evolve and change as the story progresses. 

You can keep what you have and change the parts that don't work or you're not happy with or you can completely scrap it and start from scratch. There is no right or wrong answer, just what works best for you 

[Electrically]

Hey FreezMilo

I totally agree with Cute Kitten, there’s tons of information out there, and I don’t think anyone puts together a perfect first draft, and you can always edit a posted story if you want. 

Lately I’ve been fascinated by the whole process of different people writing stories, their approach, the editing or lack there of. I don’t know why I find it interesting but I do.  So it’s pretty cool you can write a story without much editing. 

One thing I noticed throughout most of the story tellers on this particular site, is there are many unfinished stories. So don’t stress too much if you abandon it, or totally delete it.

 

Lately I’ve been really trying to finish my story, and I am not exactly stuck, more so just frustrated with my personal ability to actually write a story.
 

I have the complete ruff draft (Very Ruff) done, but somewhere in between my  ruff draft and editing, trying to add the right details, yata..yata… yata I seem to like, lose it.

I know we (as writers) all try to produce a good, legible, story that makes sense. But I try to remember (which doesn’t always happen) relax try to enjoy writing whatever you’re writing (it’s kinda fun) and Just Write!

 

[FreezMilo]

On 4/29/2025 at 7:20 PM, Cute_Kitten said:

Very few stories are perfect upon first draft. Many writers, even professionally published big names, write a draft then go back and edit. Heck the pros even have professional editors. My point- if this is your first or rough draft of a story give yourself the grace to make mistakes. 

If you're noticing problems in your story or hitting writer's block, it can help to step back and analyze your story. What are the problems? What isn't working? The key to fixing those problems can be figuring out why it isn't working. 

Break your story into it's component pieces and analyze it, from characters to plot etc. How are the characters? Do they feel flat? Maybe they need some work- what are their personalities? Their hopes, dreams and wants? What stands in their way or blocks them from achieving those goals, wants and desires? How is the plot? Is there a plot or is the story one diapers change after another? What happens in the story? How do the characters feel about the events in the story? How do those events impact them and shape or change them? What do you want to happen in the story?

You don't have to answer all of these. I'm just throwing out some food for thought and giving you some questions you can ask of your story. There are lots of resources for free out there to help you analyze a story. There's a wide variety of How To guides, plot maps and YouTube videos and articles. 

Planning ahead doesn't have to be super detailed. It can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Every writer is different. You can think of them as notes or reminders to keep your writing on track. What works for me is simple concept notes or quick plot and character sketches. These usually evolve and change as the story progresses. 

You can keep what you have and change the parts that don't work or you're not happy with or you can completely scrap it and start from scratch. There is no right or wrong answer, just what works best for you 

Thank you for the advice! 

20 hours ago, Electrically said:

Hey FreezMilo

I totally agree with Cute Kitten, there’s tons of information out there, and I don’t think anyone puts together a perfect first draft, and you can always edit a posted story if you want. 

Lately I’ve been fascinated by the whole process of different people writing stories, their approach, the editing or lack there of. I don’t know why I find it interesting but I do.  So it’s pretty cool you can write a story without much editing. 

One thing I noticed throughout most of the story tellers on this particular site, is there are many unfinished stories. So don’t stress too much if you abandon it, or totally delete it.

 

Lately I’ve been really trying to finish my story, and I am not exactly stuck, more so just frustrated with my personal ability to actually write a story.
 

I have the complete ruff draft (Very Ruff) done, but somewhere in between my  ruff draft and editing, trying to add the right details, yata..yata… yata I seem to like, lose it.

I know we (as writers) all try to produce a good, legible, story that makes sense. But I try to remember (which doesn’t always happen) relax try to enjoy writing whatever you’re writing (it’s kinda fun) and Just Write!

 

Thank you!

[Goodnitesboi]

Planning out your story is definitely a good idea, that way you change things you like or don't like in your story. 

There's absolutely nothing wrong with rewriting your story, especially if you're not happy with it.

I've done it before and I've deleted and rewritten whole chapters I wasn't happy with.   

[spark]

I usually get a feeling whether the idea is working or it's not fairly not.  I usually get an idea for a story (usually while lying in bed) and eventually I decide to get it out of my head and on paper.  Sometimes the words just pop out of my fingers, other times I get stuck and it just doesn't work. 

I've tried to make "Eddie's Potty Training Journal" several times, and the original bubble isn't identical to what I'm writing.  Not to mention how different the final draft is to what I draft originally.

[BabySofia]

This is part of why I always try to have at least 15-20 postings ahead of where I'm at when I start publishing. I will say I have reached total writers block on some things before, and had to go back and delete a chapter and rewrite. (That's what I had to do with my Emerald Princess book at one point) Until it's a fully published work, I don't consider it 'final' if that makes sense. I've even completely rewritten an epilogue a while later after having some time to think about it more. 

Good luck!