I think i made a huge screw up

[BcRedneck]

I took some advice and took time off before editing my first story. I made the decision to use my main character from the first one. Since I got to know the character writing is going alot better. So much better in fact I'm starting to feel like I'm making a really good second book to a series with a crap beginning. My writing in the first improved as I went on. But I'm extremely happy about my start to this one and I don't want to have people quit reading book one at the beginning and never see my better work

I will now apologized for my crap grammar and punctuation in this text I made on my phone

 

[Droflet]

Hey, Bc, we all learn by doing.

 

[BcRedneck]

Well what do I do now?

 

[BcRedneck]

I did have the foresight to leave myself room to edit out of this mess but only by ditching a good plan and finding a totally new direction. Option two rewrite 50% of book one. Now the problem with this is I can naturally come up with a base plan and the rest just comes flying out of my brain as fast as I type. Going back and redoing sections freaks me out a bit

 

[BcRedneck]

Basically as it sits my decision to take time away from the first book is going to cause me to ditch half the first or ditch half this one and figure out what my characters are going to be doing for the rest of it unless I go and leave the series idea off the cover and put it on the last page or something so people can pick this up as if it was a standalone

 

[Droflet]

Bc, you've learned a lot, so take that knowledge back to book one and punch it into shape. If it needs it. But first, sit and think about what you're going to do to improve your story. Good luck.

 

[BcRedneck]

It needs work but to be fair to myself. I never wrote anything longer than a couple pages before. I would just let story's play out in my own mind. It was a coping mechanism learned as a child. Being locked up for a crime I committed do to stimulant psychosis for 2 years. While also reading books honed that part of my mind. I've reached the point where I can't even stop doing it. I just woke up from a dream (that's how it always starts)and instead of wasting it I started writing it. Now it's almost like the drugs I was once addicted to. I can't even stop but instead of the visual 1st person experience. I narrate it in my head. While visualizing the scenes. I may have just begun but this is not going to stop anytime soon.

 

[Dan Jones]

Option two rewrite 50% of book one. Now the problem with this is I can naturally come up with a base plan and the rest just comes flying out of my brain as fast as I type. Going back and redoing sections freaks me out a bit

This sounds like the better option. Going back and redoing things is part of the game, unfortunately; we've all had to do it.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

This sounds like the better option. Going back and redoing things is part of the game, unfortunately; we've all had to do it.

I agree. Editing is a key skill to learn if you're going to keep going with writing.

 

[JS Wiig]

I would say don’t get too attached to early drafts. Writing is a craft that takes much time to learn proficiency in. Also, others may not see your story as you do, setting yourself up for major dissapointment.

Just keep writing, trying different stories. Your first (or second or third or…) story isn’t the only story you have to tell.

 

[Dan Jones]

I would say don’t get too attached to early drafts.

I'd expand that and say don't get attached to early novels...

 

[Wayne Mack]

Congratulations on completing a first novel; that alone puts you heads and shoulders above most people. Yes, you have a myriad of options of what to do, but I am afraid that I am too far removed from the situation to give credible advice. I can advise on one thing not to do, do not stop working on the second novel. You may choose to put the first one aside and complete the second, or you may choose to interleave working on both. Just do not stop work on the second to try to fix the first.

Good luck on the second novel. Remember to have fun with your writing. And be aware that you may find another option, write a third novel that may eclipse either of the first two. Enjoy the journey.

 

[BcRedneck]

I am definitely having fun with this. I have one scene that I can't wait to share with you all once I hit my 30 post. I have lots of knowledge of electronics and there was one thing I've always known was possible. However actually doing it would mean using a building worth of equipment and hundreds of thousands of dollars to build something that would amount to a novelty. I love that I can make stuff like that come alive thru writing. And it's not some high tech pipe dream. The thing is fully possible but to costly and time intensive to make.

 

[Flaviosky]

I have one scene that I can't wait to share with you all once I hit my 30 post

I'd go for it, but remember to give good context when sharing your scene so these good people hopefully see the story as you do!

I was as eager as you to share these fragments, and recieved lots of very valuable feedback in return. This has made me look my work from a completely different perspective, to the point of having my story split into 3 books (when I thought it was just one). I've written many parts from scratch, and then rewritten them again every time I got more feedback.

Keep commenting, keep asking, until you get to the mark and we'll see part of your work.

 

[BcRedneck]

Thankfully the part I want to share is in the beginning. so it won't require me to add to much context to know what's going on. Anyone who has ever seen a electronic text book will most likely enjoy it. It takes water analogies to the next level.

 

[tinkerdan]

If possible--finish the whole thing first before changing the rough part. There may be more discoveries beyond what you have found so far.
Unless you can't move on until you have some of that figured out--in that case doing the edits now beats being stuck.

 

[sknox]

I also recommend you tell the story all the way to the end before considering what to do with that first book. As you have experienced yourself, we tend to change over time. The person who looks at that first book today is not the same one who will look at it a year from now. And anyway, you don't see the whole, you see only part. Get the whole thing done. Then step back and decide what needs revision and what needs to be shoved out the airlock.

 

[BcRedneck]

Well I have been doing the finish before changes method. I make mental notes as I go and come back to them later.

 

[WSDuffy]

I would say focus your work wherever your energy and enthusiasm takes you. You can always submit your second book as the "start" of the trilogy and add an updated version of the temporally earlier text as a prequel. In any event, finishing a novel draft of any type is really hard and you should be proud of that. And the sheer fact that it improved you as a writer makes it a success.

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

I'd expand that and say don't get attached to early novels...

Published writers do seem to be more honest than they used to be about having an unpublished early novel or nine in the desk drawer...