Creative ways to fix a failed WIP

After toiling for hours on end, you’ve finished your current Work-In-Progress (WIP).

When you read it over, something feels off, but you cannot put your finger on it. So how do you figure out what’s wrong with your WIP?

Try one of these methods to unearth the problems in your story.

Playing Good Cop

Beating yourself up over a failed story is not the way to motivate yourself to fix it.

Taking on the classic Good Cop role from your favorite action movies, write down the best parts of your story or novel.

Pen a glowing review of your creative voice, the way you bring your characters to life or your knack for turning a phrase.

Spotlighting the best parts of your story can boost your morale and keep you from falling victim to negative self-talk.

Playing Bad Cop

There is a time to handle your WIP with kid gloves, and a time to get down to brass tacks.

Now that you’ve highlighted the best parts of your story, get tough and make a list of the parts that make you cringe. 

Pretend you are a book critic. Pick apart your WIP. Skewer it! No word or phrase is precious, especially if it drags your story down. Once you’ve gotten rid of the writing that does not measure up, you can work on connecting the best parts of your WIP.

Tackle Your Writing Hitlist

While every story you write is different, you, the writer, remain the one constant. Chances are, you have a few bad habits that you cannot seem to break.

The good news? Learning to identify these overused culprits makes it easier to get rid of them once and for all.

• Are you a slave to adjectives & adverbs? Axe ‘em!
• Playing possum to prepositions and pronouns? Ice ‘em!
• Stuck in a time loop by saying the same thing twice? Save one descriptor, then slice and dice the other!

Hot On The Trail

One method used in First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner is Tagging & Tracing.

Wiesner offers this method as a way to identify all the plot threads in your story (including story goals, subplots, and tension) and instructs you how to make sure you have carried each one through your entire story.

By isolating each thread, you can see if each one is strong enough on its own, and whether each thread logically progresses from its start to its conclusion.

Visit Wiesner's website to see a sample version of her Tagging & Tracing method.

The Bottom Line

Editing your work-in-progress doesn't have to be like pulling teeth. By taking a creative approach to tidying up your prose, you can grow as a writer, extract the best parts of your writing, and transform that Work-In-Progress into a completed piece of writing you can be proud of.

Resources

Toronto residents can purchase First Draft in 30 Days at your local Chapters, Indigo, or other bookstore. Find book availability and store location on the Chapter's website. Online shoppers can find the books at Writer's Digest or Amazon.

Your Opinion Matters

• Do you have special tricks or techniques to making the editing process go more smoothly?
• How do you uncover the weaker points in your writing?

Help your fellow frustrated writers by sharing your methods in the comments section!

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