I've been watching comments from people over the years on stories, and some of the comments are accurately pointing out deficiencies in stories - either things that were implied but not obviously so, or things that could have been added for more description. As an example, I did revise "Customer Service" to add fix for Alison, and it was well received. After posting Dear Jenny, I had to do a small revision to Cousin Trouble to get it to sync up with the story line.
Some have suggested that the ending of Cheer Squad was too abrupt, that chances were missed to take advantage of the opportunities. I already know how I'd revise that. To that end, Cousin Trouble could have some revisions to add more 'mentor time' with Anya or another character, and a section or two which would help explain the reason for the choice.
I'm torn. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, I'd like to see my stories continue to be polished. But I have other stories in the work, and you CAN overdo things sometimes. I guess I'd like to hear how other authors, and readers, feel about the general topic of revising a published story. Not that this is a vote! My works are produced under a benevolent dictatorship - me! But I'd like to know what others do.
Comments
As a benevolent dictator myself
do as you see fit.
IMHO minor glitches are ignorable unless they are really annoying. Major inconsistencies do deserve reworking. Or at least a serviceable *patch*.
All a question of your available time and other calls on it.
Or you can say SOD ALL and do the Star Trek film franchise *thing* and say time travel changed the past so there is a new timeline now.
So Duex aux Machina(?) but hey, if it works?
-- grin --
John in Wauwatosa
P.S. Or how about alternative universes?
P.P.S. Or Grandma's or Anya's magic went wild and changed the past including theirs... Sounds like the Star Trek idea could work
-- grin --
John in Wauwatosa
Ugh no
And how many like the revised movies?
My bad. This should have been under the starwars comment.
Tractor-Trailers...
...I've had readers point out glaring mistakes in continuity and holes you could drive a Semi through, and I edit the stories to correct those mistakes. I always look for typos and grammar issues when after I publish, and I also look for repeat verbs in paragraphs that could be changed to a synonym; something to help say it better? I'm always looking to improve.
On the other hand, even if a story of mine isn't received as well as I'd like, if I'm satisfied with how it is, I leave it be. I suppose it all depends on what constitutes improvement. If it ain't broke? But as Joan Wayne would say, I only gave you one woman's opinion, pilgrim!
Love, Andrea Lena
If its hard to read or doesn't make since
then I say yes or in your case to get the story lines to sync up. so I say ONLY if it is needed. As for the cheer squad I think I know what lead to the decision & that was a since of belonging with a group to have actual friends instead of the ridicule she served as a guy on the squad. Anyway this is what I think & the way I think.
Love Samantha Renee Heart
I have done that in the past
I have done that in the past by marking the first one a Rough Draft or renaming it as such and leave it published so that people can read and compare the versions. I too am a perfectionist and don't really like what I write as I can see what is wrong and so I publish them quick and let the readers decide if they like them.
I'm torn
A very intelligent reader took the time to give me a detailed list of things wrong with "A Turn of the Cards", and her commentary was spot on - everything she said was true. But it would involve a fairly large rewrite - like the one you envisage for your story. I told her I was done with the story but would take the feedback onboard for my next one, but now I feel guilty: she's gone to the trouble to give me a lot of her time, and some valuable advice, and I really should act on it.
On the other hand the story took me 4 years to write, and I feel ready for something new. Perhaps before I publish anything I should take Alan Hollinghurst's advice to Zadie Smith (I'm paraphrasing). "I stick it in a drawer for five year, then come back and look at it."
not as think as i smart i am
Both
Keep the original and write it again any way you like!!
Dayna
Trying too hard
Obviously one should fix typos and really annoying grammatical errors.
Obviously one should rewrite if there is a glaring (or even not-so-glaring) plot hole. Stories ought to be consistent if nothing else.
But one can take things too far, constantly revising and revising until what you end up with is nothing like what you originally intended.
At some point, like a ship on the slipway, you have to decide that enough is enough and just launch the thing into the waters. At that point your creation has to take on its own existence and that can be a good thing, too. It psychologically frees you up to begin writing the next one.
Penny
Like "Star Wars"?
It's the first example that came to mind when you start with the 'constantly revising and revising until what you end up with is nothing like what you originally intended.' (And Han DID shoot first!)
I know things can be overdone on revisions. But I also know that there are areas that could be improved. Improvement comes with a price - the expectation that you're never quite done, the confusion about readers if one has read the original, and the second has read revision-B, then they may confuse each other trying to discuss what is supposed to be the same story.
It's tough to figure out how to handle this.
Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein
Revise or not to revise
My opinion is that even in the book industry authors would update or fix errors after the first publishing.
The only option I can suggest is in the title to give the first date published followed by the revision number and year revised
About how much to revised would be to look at what stories you plan on updating. Unless its for clarity or continuity I would to try and leave the rest alone. Over revision could lead to a different story than intended.
Typed on my smartphone
I think Trey Parker of South
I think Trey Parker of South Park said it best when describing his episodes and his creative process. He said he could sit there and go over and over and in the end it would only be 1/10th better. Personally I'm just glad you are continuing writing, rather see that then brooding over perfection.
Revisions
When and if to revise a posted story is up to the author. However, I myself would appreciate it if the title could show R1 R2 etc so that the reader knows that there may be diferences since first read.
Also a short note at the top of the first page could summerize the revisions.
Zip
To do or Not to do.
That is a question isn't it?
I have gone back back in and done revisions on posted stories if I had a fact wrong, left a plot hole you could drive a truck through or was inconsistent with something. Also if there is grammatical error that wasn't part of a character's dialogue. Other than that, not very often because I've found that you can keep finding things you think are wrong and will never finish revising. I usually let a story sit for a few days then reread it to see how it reads and flows after the heat of creating it has faded at least a bit. I also do a final check and minor adjustments as I post, but I tend to be a little weird about things like that. Just how I work is all. I also post something to let people know I've made the revisions when I do any.
As with anything else with writing, the decision to revise something or not is the author's to make.
Maggie
I have to agree with Maggie's last statement
The decision to revise is yours to make. If you feel that one of your stories needs to be changed/enhanced/shortened/rewritten, that is one of the joys of online publishing. You can do it. Of course you should try to avoid the easy trap of never considering something finished or good enough to be published thus denying the rest of us a chance to see your creative work and perhaps comment and suggest.
I do publish, but then get
I do publish, but then get on-line comments and decide that I could have improved the story - here, and there, and there, etc.
It's about when to call it good or when to keep revising. That's why I like at least 2 editors - Sir Lee and Ellie have been great help - although I'm trying hard not to rely on Ellie so the next chapters of Eerie Saloon can be worked upon :)
Which is maybe to say that there may be an opening for a story reviewer / editor...
Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein
Elrod, why not
post the revised, leave up original?
May Your Light Forever Shine
In case people were wondering
I have been thinking about revising and extending Cheer Squad. I already did a revision to Customer Support, and as I work on posting old stories, I've been thinking about revisions there, too. Two BB examples are Gate Crashers and The Skinheads. Both could use a lot of work. My issue is limited writing time and conflicts. I've nearly finished a new BB tale (political intrigue), I've outlined Jenny's Family (the third in the Jenny trilogy - about Melinda, Jenny, and Natalya adapting as a family), I've roughly outlined The Temptation of Anya, and I've got a few others.
Wanting to revise and extend stories is a curse. I could spend a lot of time doing revisions, tweaking, adjusting. Then again, I have to remind myself of what I tell my co-workers about engineering - the last 10% of a project takes 90% of the time; sometimes, you settle for "good enough" engineering. I need to do the same on my stories. But since I learned to be a perfectionist from my father, it's hard to not want to revise and extend stories to try to make them "just a bit better".
Imagination is more important than knowledge
A. Einstein