fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2164 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2164 ⌋

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Notes:

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So, I've just finished a massively long piece for the (Son of) BB fest and now I want to return to writing a WIP I was more than halfway through when I started BB, but...

I've kind of lost track of the narrative thread of the WIP. Any tips? Words of advice? I'm determined to finish the WIP, I'm just not sure how to get started again. I've read through it and read my outline, but getting going is harder than I thought it would be.

I have deja vu of deja vu. I could swear that someone once made a comment like this here, and I mentioned that it gave me deja vu, because I had the impression that someone before them had asked for the same advice for the same problem.

Ehem, anyway, I think your best bet would be to get a second pair of eyes. Do you have an idea-bouncing fandom buddy, or a beta, or someone like that? A different perspective can help if you're stuck.

Alternatively, drop the WIP for a few weeks, do other stuff, and then pick it up again to see if you have a fresher mind for it.

I must have missed that thread. Sorry! :(

What? Oh, no, don't worry! This was several months ago. I just brought it up because it was a surreal experience, not as an admonishment.

I'm sorry I don't have any advice. I'm very happy you're picking up BftDA again! Good luck!

Yep, I'm trying to find the groove for it and letting the characters find their own voices again. Wish me luck!

Best of luck to you. I recently did this as well. Since you already re-read everything, including the outline, my best advice is to try and power through a scene. It can be the next one after the point where you left off, or it can be somewhere else entirely. This might be able to help you get back in the groove of writing the voices for your characters, even if what you produce right at that moment doesn't live up to your standards. You can always come back to it once you feel you've gotten back the narrative voice for the piece.

Thanks for the suggestion! Maybe I should try writing an outtake that I know isn't going into the edited piece just to get their voices back.

I am actually dealing with the same thing right now!

What I've found helpful is picking a scene that I can ~see~ in my mind's eye really clearly, no matter where it is on the outline (though, hopefully reasonably close to where I left off) and writing it, then filling in from there. It may not help you, but it's an interesting exercise that forces you to think about where your story is heading.

Oh, great idea! There's a scene I've been dying to write, but I'm not there yet. I can do a draft of it now.

Revisit canon. If it's a really long canon, then do a highlights version with your favorite parts, and anything key to your fic.

Good luck!!

Thanks! It's HP. Maybe just book six. :)

I think HP counts as a really long canon. C:

Seconding the person who suggested revisiting the canon -- especially any specific parts that inspired the WIP. Read through your entire fic so far, and then explore the plot in your head from the beginning without referring to your text (or possibly reverse those two steps). Think about your characters, and the way you understand them; how would they naturally respond to the most recent events in your WIP?

I hope some of this has helped.

I like the idea of working through the plot without referring to the text. I might even write out a conversation between the two characters over a plot point that's been bothering me, just to get back into their heads a bit.

Thanks!

Maybe look back at your original mindset? What made you want to write this story in the first place? Was there anything you particularly wanted to see?

Sometimes remembering why I was so excited to write something helps me recall the scene more clearly, if that makes any sense. It probably doesn't; I'm very tired. Good luck on your fic!

[ SECRET POST #2164 ]

Returning to a WIP

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