Hey there!

 

I recently went through a traumatizing experience: I wrote a 210-page first draft, was rewriting it, and got over 100 pages in when I realized…

The plot wasn’t right.

This post is a step-by-step guide on what to do if this ever happens to you, based off of my own personal experience.

Step One: Bang your head on a desk/table/wall

This is strangely relieving to your frustration. Just let the head drop onto the table where you were sitting with your computer when the dreadful revelation happened. Bang it around a few times. Let out the absolute crushed-ness of your writer’s heart.

 

Step Two: BREATHE

This is an important step! Take in a deep breath through your nose, and then let it out from your mouth a couple times. Repeat until you’re calm enough to think again.

 

Step Three: Close the offending document

The story has failed you. So why should you hang around? Close the thing (make sure the save, though) and leave your computer alone for a while. Take a walk. Play video games. Read a book. Anything other than writing. Make sure you don’t think about it for a while. (I promise, it only will give you a lot of headache) (Can you tell that I learned the hard way? 😂)

 

Step Four: BIG BREAK

Take a very long break from your book. I mean at least a half a month, though I recommend a full month. Go to that plot bunny you’ve been thinking about and work on that. When you finally hit a wall with it, it’s time to come back to your old story. You’ll be able to look at it with fresh eyes, and it’ll be so much easier to change it. (I promise, I’ve literally tested this) (several times)

 

Step Five: Take out physical paper and pencil

This is actually easier when you’re doing it not a computer or something. The thing you must do is write out what you need to add to the story that was missing (and made the whole plot collapse around your ears in the first place). For me, this happened to be some pretty essential plot points. The next thing you must do is brainstorm how to add these in.

Remember: you are allowed to stray from the old plot. 

It failed you. You are absolutely free to change it all if you want. (Plus, you’re the one who made it all in the first place) You may want to keep a lot of it (like certain scenes, character development, or hilarious comebacks) but your first priority is to make the plot work.

If you want a more in-depth description on rewriting, check out this series!

 

Step Six: Begin the new rewrite

Now it’s time to pull out a new, blank document and all the old ones as well. Begin rewriting your story with them to be used when you’re using old scenes. If you’re interested in a more in-depth explanation, check out this recent post of mine!

 

 

And there we go! A clear, step-by-step guide! 😄

 

 

The Storm Inside

I got a bit more work done on this; here are some snippets!

 

Drake let out a loud groan, but for once, Amanda ignored him. She had a feeling that ran deeper in her than this ache that it was leading her to something important. Something she needed.

 

She slipped after only a moment, hitting her nose hard on the ground. Amanda could feel blood starting to trickle out of it, but didn’t have time to wipe it away. She gritted her teeth, using her will to stay alive to fuel her as she pushed herself.

 

Holding her nose – that was the second time it had been crushed by ice in the past five minutes! – Amanda turned about.

 

Did you enjoy those?

 

Boxes!

I realized just the other day that I forgot to mention something in my monthly recap: I’ve decided that every month, after the overview is posted, and I’ve calculated my average of, well, everything, then I’m going to see if I can find a company I’m interested in working with and try pitching them.

So the first company I pitched never responded, which I took as a no… 😂

But I got a reply last week from the one I did this month; they were super awesome about it, and it turns out they only do social media representatives. (Oops) But, hey, because they actually replied, I thought I’d drop a link to them anyways!

Click HERE for the link to Beacon Book Box!

 

 

Worksheets

I was asked after my monthly overview of what exactly I meant by worksheets. Turns out I’d forgotten to even tell you about what I meant! 😂 To describe them, they’re to go along with what I talk about in posts to help you follow along easier, or as something I’ve added on. I gave you guys a poll to see what you thought, and the results are in: 5 people want free worksheets, and 1 doesn’t.

That isn’t exactly encouraging, and I put a lot of thought into this. Do I really want to make these?

My decision is that yes, I will try. My goal for this summer is to make at least one worksheet to go along with a post. We’ll see how it goes, and if it’s good, then I’ll consider making more.

However!

I am a rising entrepreneur. Meaning I want to help you guys out but still get paid. (Crazy, I know, especially since I spend every Monday throwing free content at you) I’ve been blogging for almost a year now, and have decided to try monetizing my blog. I really should’ve started long ago, but I didn’t feel comfortable asking for money in return. (Not to say that I still don’t 😂) So I am putting out a survey! I’d appreciate it if you’d answer it. 😉

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Pinterest Board: Released!

Just as a quick note because I thought you would be interested: I un-secreted my board on Pinterest for my inspiration for The Triad of Caosdif. If you want to see it, just click HERE and get a peek as to what wild ideas are going through my head for it. 😜

Have you ever had a plot fail majorly on you?

Was this post helpful to you?

What kind of posts on writing do you want me to do next?

Did you enjoy the snippets?

Are you checking out Beacon Book Box?

And are you going to see my Pinterest board?

Tell me in the comments below!

-Julia