Sometimes Your Story Simply Sucks

Wow, check out that alliteration in the title! Must be the coffee.

Anyway, I thought I would bring up a point that writers simply do not want to face. There will be times when your story simply "bites the big one" and there is nothing to do to save it. We will all face those times. You simply have to get up off the floor, dust yourself off and move on.

For many authors, we know what we wanted to say in the story. When you got ready to put the story together, you felt as if you had a clear picture of what needed to happen in the story. But then something happens. Somewhere between "Once upon a time" and "The End" the story took on a life of its own and it ended up being nothing like you had planned. Yes, sometimes this can be a great surprise and you can end up with a product that is better, but you can also end up with a piece of garbage.

At this point, you have two choices. The first choice is to simply trash it. Have a great glass of wine, sit by the fire and dump those pages in the blaze as you roast marshmallows for s'mores. The second choice is to start over.

Now, if you decide to take the second option, I would strongly recommend literally starting over. Don't go back through and try to "fix the story." It is simply too far gone. Instead, start from the beginning. As you write, if there are scenes and snippets from the other book that work, steal the ideas.

Don't panic though. This does happen to every writer!