Partial stories

[Ihe]

Over the years, I've built up a sizeable collection of ideas, concepts, and shadows of plot--all promising, none fully fleshed. There's a particular writing project I keep coming back to, for over 8 years now. I've reworked details and big points alike for ages now, never getting anywhere, which means the project never went beyond 200 pages (and now I'm back to 0, for the umpteenth time).

Thing is, a new idea has come along, and it seems to fit my old project nicely, but would imply some big plot changes in my little pet.

What do you guys do when you have 2 partial stories that might fare well together? In my case, both of these fragments will shed valuable plot points in order to mesh smoothly. I feel I'm somehow mutilating both stories to make another one, and I can't help but feel I'm wasting resources by discarding some key aspects of them. Then again, this could mean a good jolt to my old project. Any input?

 

[RX-79G]

It isn't a pet if it has never lived. If you have a story that is never going to get finished, but you can cannibalize it and make great finished work - do it.

You will not run out of ideas. Spend the ones you have making something great.

 

[The Big Peat]

I mourn for every story idea I have that never comes to fruition but the reality is I have too many ideas to write them all. Better to use some of an idea rather than none of an idea.

More to the point, I'm looking to use the strongest possible ideas. If stitching ideas together is what it takes, that's what I does. And it is increasingly what I do. There's ideas in some of my WIPs that go back further than I care to think, hopping from one story to another until it finds one that works.

In short, this is me:

 

[Phyrebrat]

If we could approach our work with equanimity and objectively we'd be laughing all the way to the end of each tale. But we're emotionally attached to the story so it's not so easy to be that binary.

What stood out for me in your question was when you said you would be mutilating two stories to get them to mesh. That sounds like a gut response to me about how you really feel.

On that alone, I'd not mix them.

However that's how I work, and the other comments above are valid, too.

I can empathise because my wip is in its 4th incarnation since 2009. In retrospect I realised I needed a stronger sense of the structure and more planning - even though I'm not a planner. Perhaps 'groundwork' is a better term.

Ask yourself, on your long term project have you done all your groundwork?

pH

 

[VinceK]

One way of doing this would be to create a story planner and see which components from your existing work will fit in. The downside is that each individual story will be carrying a plot, a theme, a premise and a multitude of purposeful characters with individual goals. When you combine the stories you may find yourself hammering a square peg into a round hole and ruining both of them.

 

[Biskit]

It isn't a pet if it has never lived. If you have a story that is never going to get finished, but you can cannibalize it and make great finished work - do it.

Seconded.

I have things I've started writing that were fun but clearly going nowhere because something wasn't right, or the characters didn't work, and some other idea or fragment of a story suddenly pops up, gives the right context and the two together can work. If neither story is working on its own and merging them is the answer, then do it. Stuff that has to be discarded in the process goes back into the ideas heap.

 

[Mad Alice]

read over your story thinking about what you would do if it were someone else. open up a blank file. sit down and start writing.
you can still tell their story by retelling their story.
now about your meshing idea?
if you think about it every story is a kind of trope. find the trope in the bits you think would work and work yourself back up from the trope into situation and characters. it requires a bit of work by the old brainpan, but creating new from old always dovetails better then stacking ideas.
its really not worth the arduous story map you will need to establish to directly reuse bits and bobs to keep track of who's whatis fits the thingamajig. that kind of thing tends to deflate a story quickly leaving you in the writing duldrums. overplanning can suck your story juices dry faster then a twilight sparkly vampire.
one thing I am very much for, however, for the bogged downable writer, is a story's mission statement. its meaning of life, the universe and everything, sort of thing. what you are trying to get happen and why, to formulate your writing plan of attack. what you are striving for. having these points in front of you, then you sit down and ecriter your story out allowing your inner poet free range to emote.

 

[Ihe]

What stood out for me in your question was when you said you would be mutilating two stories to get them to mesh. That sounds like a gut response to me about how you really feel.
On that alone, I'd not mix them.

Instinct vs intellect. Heart and brain. What a poetic struggle. By God, it's actually a real struggle. Gotta let it sink in. As a grown adult I cannot decide about a little story that hasn't happened yet because I care too much about another story that will probably never happen... It sounds silly and absolutely bonkers.

Stuff that has to be discarded in the process goes back into the ideas heap.

Thing is, sometimes they can't go back into the pile. When an element is intrinsically connected to a bigger conceptual/plot framework, separating it from its main body kills it and renders it unusable for anything else other than that particular story. That's how I feel. I would really be destroying a plot path. But on the other hand, going forward is the only way to get it done, I know it is, I really do. Leaving a trail of bloody literary bodies in your creative wake is how you get it done.

Trouble is I started thinking of ideas as my own children. I never considered just how personal and intimate art could become if one is invested. It's a bit weird, really.

 

[tinkerdan]

My thought is; if we have so many ideas and have yet to finish a story then there is a point where the ideas no longer have teeth, because we put them under an immovable rock. It might work to start rolling the rocks down a hill somewhere until you get to the bottom or the end then decide whether the next great idea might enhance the whole piece or if it belongs in its own book.

Keep writing and finish something. (That's what I keep telling myself.)

 

[ErikB]

Just a thought or observation to throw out here. Generally there are only a handful of reasons for partial stories.

1). Time management is off. Great ideas pop in and focus shifts. Meanwhile the story never gets a lot of back to back writing time because the writer is very busy or scattered in their daily life.

2). Procrastination. Only a bit gets written and while the ideas are good the pace keeps the writer from getting fully immersed in the story as other things take precedence over the writing.

3). The writer lacks an ending and cannot figure out how to continue without the latter part of the story in mind. That lack of an ending causes other cool ideas to jump into mind and the story continues to linger unfinished.

4). Hyper perfection in writing. The writer keeps rewriting and making the story better, smoother, more creative, adventurous, etc but never gets to the end because it is never "there" yet! There's always more stuff to polish.

I'm not sure whether any of these describe you as an author. But I think if you try to merge two stories when you cannot complete the one it will only make things drag on.

I would say finish your first story. Keep the second on the side. Even if your ending is weak. You can always improve it. Finish the first, improve and add as you wish and if the second idea has elements that can be merged into the first then do so.

Otherwise give the second story a chance to be completed and stand on its own merit. The first story you have obviously loved and worked on for some time. Make yourself finish it before moving on. I think your creativity will jump into play. Especially if the ending you write does not fully meet your needs.

Best of luck with both projects. I personally hope you get two great stories out of the ideas rather than just one. But ultimately its what you want that matters. Decide that and act accordingly. There are no wrong choices. Just different options.

Cheers!