Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

29 January 2010 | Filed Under Tools of the Trade 

These steps apply, of course, to helping the environment, but they can also apply to your writing. A Recycle Bin is a very useful tool for writers.

Have you ever had a lame story with a lame main character and a lame antagonist, but an awesome secondary character? Instead of trying to save the whole of the story just so your secondary character can shine, recycle him! Put him in a better story.

Maybe there’s nothing wrong with your story, you just lose interest. Same thing applies. Recycle the good stuff, forget the bad.

For example, my current project stole from a project I was having trouble with. I took the religious system and the “strange” magic of the main character. I’m not sure whether or not to keep the original story (one small adjustment and it could be another installment in this saga), so I’m not sure yet whether or not to recycle the characters I created. But if I ditch it, you can bet I’m moving my favorite characters over.

Comments

One Response to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”

  1. Jenn on February 26th, 2010 1:08 pm

    Update: That other project? I totally ditched the main character from it, and promoted the secondary character to main, with a few more twists of his own. And some of its characters WILL be doubling as characters in my current project. Cool beans.

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    Hi, I'm Jenn, new grad student and old YA fantasy writer. I've long dreamed of being a novelist, and I bet you have too. I hope you find my blog helpful, inspiring, and maybe just a little bit fun. (But not too much fun. Writing is serious business, you know.)

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