When to Abandon or Revive a Writing Project

Trunk stories are novels or short stories you’ve had to bury because, for whatever reason, they feel lifeless. This video contains tips and tricks for sensing when a story deserves to bite the dust or be reanimated with fresh parts.
You can read a text version of this video on Medium: / when-to-abandon-or-rev...
Love my channel? Treat me to a cup of coffee at ko-fi.com/quotidianwriter.
Behind-the-scenes notes for this video: ko-fi.com/Blog/Post/Behind-th...
Twitter: / quotidianwriter
Title and End Music: “Clockwork” by Vindsvept - • Fantasy Music - Vindsv...
Background Music by Vindsvept:
+ “Winter’s Day”
+ “Wildfire, Part One”
+ “Keeper of the Forest”
+ “Woodland Lullaby”
SOURCES
Alex Acks’ blog post on trunk stories: katsudon.net/?p=151
Tobias S. Buckell’s blog post on trunk stories: www.sfwa.org/2015/12/35463/
Mckayla Eaton’s blog post on trunk stories: / unloading-those-trunk-...
Jeff Somers’ blog post on trunk stories: getfreewrite.com/blogs/writin...
Learning From Trunk Stories (0:00)
The Benefit of Trunking Stories (2:13)
When You Should Trunk a Story (3:23)
Editing and Iteration (5:49)
Recycling Your Ideas (8:10)
Assessing Your Stories (9:39)

[@LoffysDomain]

Diane, it's perhaps a side-note, but your video editing is nice to watch, informative, and really professional.

[@End_Zionism]

Most of my trunked stories are interesting ideas that I could not come up with a good enough story for. I had good situations but not developed stories. My general rule for writing is, when it becomes a chore either start over or trunk it.

[@anonymousleapyear5616]

Oh, gosh I have the same problem. I'm always coming up with epic ideas, but either not jotting them down fast enough, or not having the confidence in myself to write worthy of the world/story.

[@happywithdrawal]

i suffer from the same problem. a lot of the times i have a great idea but i cannot think of a story that would do it justice

[@videonmode8649]

Ever tried bouncing ideas with other people to see if there's another angle to the premise?

[@foreignblackjack405]

I've trunked many stories over the years, mostly because they didn't feel compelling. I've revisited them a few times, tried to figure out what worked and what didn't, which characters were lacking the holes that were glaring at me the following day. Perhaps I'll revisit them again, but for now they are trunked. In some instances it was also a case of falling out of love with the story.

[@QuanticDreamer]

I spent three years writing a comic and then trunked it. It was just normal, as I was learning how to write while working on it. Now I'm writing the story that came before it. And it's coming out way better, of course: three years of hard work can teach so much! After I finish, I'm planning to open the trunk and retell my first story with newfound skill. Wish me luck!

[@QuotidianWriter]

Best of luck! You can do it!!! :)

[@QuanticDreamer]

@@QuotidianWriter Thank you so much!!! :) Thank you for your wonderful videos, too!!!

[@codacreator6162]

Where the definition of 'half-baked' came from. 😁 I can't understand why there aren't 500,000 subscribers here. Your videos are insightful, practical, endlessly accessible and ridiculously entertaining! You're doing for lit what Michael @LessonsfromtheScreenplay is doing for film. Need to tap his 1MM+ subscribers!

[@MikeKanner1]

I've had stories I have thought of trunking but kept submitting because I believed in they were quality. One was accepted for payment right before I trunked it. Another was accepted when I was forced to expand from 1500 to 3000 words which required me to add a lot more description. The lessons learned from that and this video is that editing and understanding the heart of the story is important to success.

[@ZielonaPastela]

It's as they say - read what you wrote right after it's done, a day after, a week after, a month, a year... Distance can help with being more objective in one's judgement. I also heard that letting your ideas marinate in your head helps you determine, which ones are worth exploring and which ones tend to fade into oblivion - in other words, if an idea sticks with you no matter what you do or how many new things you try, that's probably what you're looking for.

[@quillakiller]

Trunked my first novella, which had my dreams and hopes written on every page. At least that's how I remember it. Now I couldn't even imagine rereading it after some lukewarm reactions to the characters and plot. Then again, considering your advice about feedback, it makes total sense. Maybe I wasn't ready to receive constructive criticism, when, instead, at that early stage, I just needed to hear encouragement. After that first project I moved on to others that received the praise I needed, luckily. Today, however, I am eager for honest critiques. And wish I had listened to much of the advice I ignored in the early days. . . . then again, this video has given me hope. Maybe I just open the truck and give that first dream another look.

[@LadyDragoncat]

How did you know that I needed to hear this? I have been trying to write a novel for a good while. But it's like they get stuck after a while, and can't go any further. I thought I could participate in last month's NaNoWriMo, but no such luck. Well, this month I'm giving myself a head start into next year. I will complete my stories, and I will go with your suggestions for reviewing my work. Thank you... and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

[@katya_fhs]

I've been writing since I was a teen, but I never took my own inclination seriously. I wrote a LOT of roleplay, which in itself is a constant trunking of stories because the plots always inevitably become dissatisfying when you write without an end in mind. Now I just finished the second draft of my first novel, and it's sitting with an editor I hired. I don't know if I'll end up trunking it. I hope not, because all these years I've been feeding my hunger for writing with badly written smut, and I want to know I can do this, maybe not for a living (I'm one of those odd ones who love their day job), but just to feel the satisfaction of finishing such a large project and feeling proud of it.

[@xrain90]

I wrote a short manuscript once about 3 years ago for a creative writing class and since then never looked back at it. Just last month however, the short piece became triple its size and hatched new chapters as well. Time is definitely a great editor.

[@allan1448]

I trunked a story in my teens. It was a continuation of Jurassic Park but in a Fantasy SiFi way. After that I dedicated myself to write on my current story. It is going on for 15 years, cuase it was a on off relationship with the plot and the characters. Altough 15 years passed I am still pumped for the story to happen. For me its like a child that I am raising to walk on its own feet. Lets see where it takes me

[@rustyalcorta3643]

From the last time I commented on your site and you gave me some advice I took a writing class and maybe I did get some good pointers but not like yours. I had done what a teacher had told me to do before I asked for your advice on details. After doing what you told me I sent the revised copy to my son, he called back all excited about the details of an old Ford, a Chevy pick up we had in high school and a Vespa scooter. TY TY TY. I am so happy I took your advice.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Happy to help, and I'm glad to hear you've been writing more!

[@daviddixon5885]

My trunk stories usually come after a writing group reviews it and offers feedback like "the prose is good, but what exactly are you trying to *say* here?"

[@rociomiranda5684]

I am so grateful I discovered your channel. I've trunked a novel that I believe has potential. I wrote the first draft when I was a lot younger. Then life became complicated and now I've lost my enthusiasm for that project. I'm older and hopefully wiser. I need to try something different and maybe I'll revisit that story sometime.

[@r4imi]

I am so so thankful for these videos. I've only been a few months into my not-so-but-kind-of serious writing journey, and I want to thank you because I've learned more about writing because of you. I've been coming back to my old crappy stories, and I just realized that 'Oh, maybe the idea isn't so bad, after all?', and I feel like I've improved a lot. Thank you for all your videos! ❤️

[@MekTS]

I was writing a space opera graphic novel(I was the artist too) and about 154 pages into that a sudden bolt of inspiration hit me for an alternate history prose novel, so I trunked the space opera because I was so excited about this new idea which did end up borrowing some traits from that trunked project. Two and a half years latter I am still obsessed with this prose novel. I am almost finished with the copy edit and three months from publishing. Being open to any sort of revision was probably the biggest lesson I learned.

[@robjvmedia260]

Diane, I just want to weigh in with thanks and compliments for your clear, no-nonsense presentation of very helpful guidance. In the short time I've been listening to you, I can say that your work may be the most effective I've encountered on the tube. This aspiring writer really appreciates the care and thoughtfulness that oozes out of each production.

[@anonymousleapyear5616]

Me too, since I've started listening to you I've rewritten a short story-like poem into a scene, based on a few things I picked up from you, and a few other similar things, and I can easily tell the improvement, so thank you for that, you're a great source for us smaller writers to look to.

[@diego2112gaming]

Picking back up my story after 8 years. Completely reworked major details, basically changed the whole framework, it's now moved from Epic Fantasy to Grimdark Fantasy, four of the characters got the axe (well, moved to other areas/roles reduced dramatically), other characters personalities got major shifts. Basically the only thing still the same is a couple of key plot details, the main character, and secondary characters. Oh, and the setting. It's the same setting, just much, much darker.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Hi there, viewer! You can read an adapted text version of this video on Medium: quotidianwriter.medium.com/when-to-abandon-or-revive-a-writing-project-a7a5e9d1927f You can also check out my behind-the-scenes notes for this video on my Ko-fi page! ko-fi.com/Blog/Post/Behind-the-Scenes-When-Should-You-Trunk-a-Story-C0C21CXHA

[@clintcarpentier2424]

I've trunked whole worlds fit for multiple stories, multiple series. I've given worlds away, only to hear they got trunked. I don't come back to them with fresh eyes. I pick them up with eyes mired with worldly research, and wizened away from ideologies; and find these worlds need complete revamping. My current world is on the third revamp. I think it's matured nicely; it's not the world I'd originally imagined, and thank The Great Orgasm for that.

[@nicolearetz2703]

This was very helpful to me! Thank you so much. I have been writing my first novel for three years now. I now had a professional writer looking over it. I will revise the story. Becaus I love the characters. Even if the characters are too passive, which is typcial for beginners, and the plot is not that thrilling. When revising, I will keep your suggestions in mind. I now knew, I can fix it. However it will be a lot of work.

[@QuotidianWriter]

You can do it!!! :)

[@danieljackson654]

Wonderfully timely; a much needed tonic. Thank you.

[@DarthCaedus137Gaming]

I trunked a story about 10 or 11 years ago which was going nowhere, and actually dusted it off just yesterday when I realised some of the characters and situations would fit perfectly in the story I'm currently writing. Even vague, nebulous ideas should not be completely dismissed or scrapped, as they may well bear fruit further down the line.

[@groovi35]

This video gave me so much motivation to keep editing my stories and to keep submitting them when I really want them to succeed and be read by many

[@armoon899]

Really impressed by the writing and editing of your videos. Each piece is like a work of art.

[@QuotidianWriter]

That's the goal! Thank you so much for watching. :)

[@ronaldmayle1823]

I self publish, so I get no rejections. lol "Private Dreams" and "Throwing Beer Cans at the Sun" are two of my books. I'm working on the third.

[@cferracini]

Since I have never written a complete story bigger than 2 pages, I could say I pretty much only have trunked stories (some call them shelved stories and I like that term a bit better). Most of them are simply wip that I got stuck and just haven't returned yet or lost interest, but I believe there are very few I may never re-write nor just go back into working on them.

[@quartkneek3670]

I've trunked several projects with the hope that I'll return to them in some form, someday. The reasons range from poor characterization (Liking the sidekick more than the protagonist, switching them out in revision and finding it still doesn't work) to weak/weird/unworkable structure. A few months ago, I decided to keep some characters and the setting but switch genres and think of it as a prequel. I think my current WiP is stronger for it and I'm glad to see that's one of the tips in your video. I take it as a sign that I'm on the right track.

[@sambarham8887]

I know this doesn’t have a lot to do with this video, but I’m writing a book I want to turn into a series. I’m happy with the characters, world and story. But I want to make sure I’m getting the first few lines right before I write (it’s fantasy btw). “Are you okay?” Throughout his years of monster hunting, Cato had never seen a beast of such unimaginable power; and he had never expected it to be his saviour, let alone so well mannered.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Thanks for sharing your work, Sam. I feel a bit of a disconnect between the piece of dialogue and the sentences that follow, since I can't tell who's speaking (I'm assuming the monster, but there's not enough information for me to visualize the scene). Perhaps your first line could describe the beast in a way that shows what makes it powerful, and in the second sentence, Cato limps backward to show he's injured and a little afraid. The third line could have the monster saying, "Are you okay?" That would surprise both the reader and Cato by providing a strong contrast between how the beast looks and how it speaks. In other words, you could add context so that the reader can picture the scene before that moment happens. I'm imagining something like this (I apologize if I'm misunderstanding what goes on in the scene, but it's simply an example): The beast's yellow eyes bored into Cato from across the forest, the black spikes along its spine glistening. Cato limped back and gripped the quiver of arrows on his shoulder. He couldn't fight in this state, not with his leg in tatters from the last monster he'd encountered. Prowling forward, the beast tilted its head. "Are you okay?" In two swift motions, the beast jolted forward and waved its claws over Cato's bleeding leg. As the skin stitched itself back together, he gasped at the strange sensation. Throughout his years of monster hunting, he had never seen a beast of such unimaginable power-and he had never expected it to be his saviour, let alone so well mannered.

[@sambarham8887]

Diane Callahan - Quotidian Writer thank you for the input. I’ve had this story in my head for a long time, but I just couldn’t think of a way to make the first sentence interesting. But this has helped me figure out how I should be handling it.

[@h.m.dreamer7935]

I came with questions and you gave answers. I now realize I never gave my stories a chance. I trunked them before writing a full outline. From here on out, I will believe in them with a more sturdy resolve. Thank you for making me a believer of my own stories and their worth. Thank you.

[@respectjournaling6263]

I had a fair share of scrapped and trunk stories, especially in the early years of my imagination. Some changed and evolved over time and became a part of my present stories, while others bit the bullet and is now collecting dust. For example, my old story, "Book and Sword", became a part of my story in Webnovel.

[@kstarwalker4905]

I'm still roughly new at the story writing so I haven't "trunked" a story yet, but I have looked back at old pictures I drew when I was a kid and story ideas and now, I've been starting or continuing the stories I told myself as a kid.

[@kathyl6677]

Never heard of "trunking" a story. My first effort from college, which made it to chapter 4, was ditched, entirely thrown away years ago. I think of it now and then. I remember the title, characters, and premise, but I'll never be able to revisit my writing style.

[@mrnnhnz]

nice one. Hard to believe there are only 1,200 likes, but part of me is glad because, we few, we privileged few, get to feast on your pearls of wisdom unhampered by the mob!

[@jamesprivett1257]

Thank you so much for identifying the online writing communities in this video. I think that joining and looking at other writer's works in progress, as well as having my work critiqued objectively will really help me improve and build confidence. Keep up the excellent work.

[@rararrar98553047658]

I’m glad I clicked on this video, I needed to hear it. I finished the draft of my first ever novel, and while world-building a second one I started revising the first - upon rereading and rewriting certain aspects, it doesn’t feel like it’s working and I’m not as compelled to finish it. It’s a decent story with good characters, but my writing isn’t yet good enough to convey it properly. It needs to go on the shelf while I finish another couple of stories to hone my skill, and then revise it. I was feeling bad about my lack of writing. I went from 2000-3000 words per day to around 500-600, and I felt like a failure. Thank you for this video!

[@QuotidianWriter]

Finishing the draft of your first novel is no small feat, and you should be proud! I'm confident you'll revisit those characters and world in the future. Sometimes a smaller daily word count can indicate better quality writing in the long run because it means you're taking your time with each sentence and carefully thinking things through. Keep writing! :)

[@judiangel4173]

Valuable information as always and encouragement too. I am editing (again) my book after you reviewed my first 1000 words. So helpful to have someone who doesn't know you review your writing. It was extremely helpful and I will be back to you for a full edit when I am finished. Thank you for you help and encouragement. Happy holidays!

[@QuotidianWriter]

Thank you so much, Judi! It was truly a pleasure to read your work, and I look forward to reading the entire novel. Keep writing! :)

[@leanneabridged]

Thank you for this insightful video. I discovered your channel last night and have been working my way through your content. I am grateful you have shared your brain stuffs with us. :)

[@anna-sleeps]

i love your videos, there's so much wisdom in here

[@t3amtomahawk]

I had three of four books in a series through a first draft but realized I didnt have the knowledge or tools to do book four justice. Upon further reflection, I realized to make all four great, I needed dostance and time. The entire series is on ice as I practice short stories, submitting, and even started an entirely new series. I plan on coming back around in three tonfour years before trying to start editing and writing book 4

[@daviddeguzman7218]

Great content. Tyvm ma'am!

[@BlindGardener]

I could listen to you all day..

[@AscendantStoic]

There is almost always something to salvage from any writing project, it might not become apparent immediately what it will be useful for or which parts exactly will live on in other stories but there is always an idea, a character, theme or even a whole scene that might fit better in a future project. Personally I have practiced the ancient alchemical art of fusing stories together (at the worldbuilding stage) and I could say it benefited both stories to be fused a lot since their worlds initially felt empty and small, now the world of the resulting story after the fusion feels more believable, populated and interesting. But this resulted in a different problem, too many secondary and support characters, might as well try fusing characters together (god, I'm starting to sound like some evil scientist) to trim down the cast a bit and give character development more focus.

[@doggiesarus]

I think that I fall into a later category. Revising when I am older and wiser. I trunked 13 novels years ago and stopped writing altogether. I then pulled several of the novels out, and by that time I had received 1.5 master's degrees including a partial English Lit degree and was starting an MFA, and with the education, growth, age, and situation change, I realized that there was no real problem. They were good, but I floundered in the middle, not understanding writing middles very well. I then focused on learning about middles, and went back into it, scrapping about 50,000 pages of randomness, and keeping about 30K. (Don't worry I have more than passed that number now with a stronger, more interesting middle). The middle thing, by the way, was that the total "reverse" has to be written-- something like the way it is described in Save the Cat (the book) and I did not do that. After re-organizing (which took a month), I started on the "reversals," and the novels are going well and the drafting is nearing its completion. Now I have 3 novels in the works, all of which I think are going well (first drafts).

[@aitch365]

Really nice video! I’ve been working on a story for the past ten years (omg) and as my own psyche has cleared up, the story has evolved by leaps and bounds over the last few weeks, but I just can’t seem to find a plot. I don’t understand how this is possible. and now I’m considering going in a while mew direction, and I realised my style has matured and been refined. I would would hate to trunk the book because I love that world so much. But working on a new story seems really tempting. These are comic books btw, so it requires waaaay too many skills and it’s kind of a mindfuck. Anyway, thanks for your video. Really helpful!

[@JonathanOWest]

I love this... I love you 💙 Thank you thank you thank you 🙏

[@blackhagalaz]

Well I kinda started writing when I was 13 years old, and like every Teenager at that time I really wanted to write a vampire-ish lovestory. Well in my late teens it wasnt vampires anymore, but my own version of creatures, with their own culture and journey, but the plot was nearly non-existing. Then before I turned 20 I took my characters and basically dumped the majority of the plot and concept. What remains are the Characters and their relationship, because I just couldn't part from them. They became less cliché, more independent, richer in their development. They becampe people that In knew in and out. They became real. So the last few years I started building a plot around them that felt real to me, built a world that is more believable, without loosing its fiction genre. Now I am almost 29 and essentially I dumped this story over and over and over until it turned from a "Vampire-Romance", to a dark fantasy drama with romantic subplot. From cliché goth-tropes and blood-sucking , to loss, war, abyss of the human soul, clash of gods and clash of tribes, serious themes like racism, classism, feminism etc. Every writer changes so much from the day they start writing to the day they are actually finished writing. Now I feel like I am headed in the right direction with my plot. I could just let it go, but I will never be finished with these characters of mine, so they deserve a good story. I have started other projects that have good concepts, but the research involved kinda slows me in my tracks a bit. They still need characters I care so much about like for those of my very first story. If I can find that, and pair that with a good concept all those "trunk stories" can be made to something. Thank you so much for this great video, all of your content is very inspiring!

[@eruphin3601]

I've trunked a lot along the years, and one just recently too. The premise I want it based on was interesting to me, but the conflict that I want to put is just not there. There are many stories I thought up for it, and I'm sure it'll be good, but... my hand just stops, the conflict never comes up, the characters become stale, and writing the novel... becomes a chore.

[@TheReadingWerewolf]

I was working on a novel once where i had the characters and setting fleshed out, then I wrote the first few chapters and had no idea where to go from there, so i decided to take a break and work on something else. Five years later, still have no idea what to do with it :P

[@cjpreach]

I trunked a story a few years ago but felt compelled to return to it. Now it is my major WIP. I am layering concepts, characters, and conflict, but word count progress is very slow.

[@QuotidianWriter]

I'm happy to hear you're still working on it!

[@nitzeart]

I’ve been trying to write this fantasy story since I finished high school. But every time I try to revise it or write a draft a bunch of holes appear in characters, plot or world. I still love and I’m fascinated with the original idea of this world and characters, but maybe the gaping holes are due to this story being initially created when I was really young. So maybe it carries the inherent flaws of a young writer. I don’t know what to do with it. It’s been almost 10 years. Maybe I’m simply too attached to it and don’t want to let it go. 😢 I’m not a full (or even part) time writer, though, it’s not even my career. I hardly have time to write. I would love to publish one day, but pretty far into the future. For now the stories, ideas and little writing I do are side hobbies. So maybe I shouldn’t worry so much and let myself get old before I try to put real work into making a story publishable, and should just write for myself for now. I don’t know.

[@bettyamiina3933]

For me my publisher said it was good but I want to revise it and change some things that cringed or were more about premise than plot. Yet another side of my mind thinks it's alright. What should I do? xx🤔

[@QuotidianWriter]

Getting objective feedback from a variety of critique partners or beta readers might help you determine if the story is working or not! :)

[@icaliver]

So that what its called? I guess my trunk story was way back after a few friends and I saw the movie Scream, I’d spend days in junior high writing new dramatic slashers and other horror stories I love how their faces lit up Christmas trees and Jack o’Lanterns with the ways characters met an horrific end and mysteries leaving lingering chills for the next page. The untimely exploding impact of Columbine, frantic PTA groups and the shadow of Zero Tolerance policy became the brick wall that slammed all the creativity. It had to amputate to fit the social norm to ease the minds of the school Administrators, Parent and few “Karen” Students alike. Oh how easy it was to be pulled into a tide of monotony of life with everyone else, until til this pandemic happen almost by some divine joke literally in an old trunk of old junk and found surviving writings. AND My god, They were terrible writings. Tripping over Plot holes, stepping over grammar mistakes, and uneven floors of tenses structures, Yet in the mist of it all entertaining, and the premises fixable to a degree. So now I’m out of job, and ghostly rejection letters from jobs, and heavy weight of time on my hands, I figure why not, what’s the worse that can happen? I get fired, I lose the house. or rejected? Bring on the rejection, it doesn’t frighten me. BTW the videos.

[@Deenatheknittingauthor]

I trunked a book I think is the best writing I have done, for yrs (started it when I was 28 and now am 54) Reason for trunking it? It felt to big for me. Like I was over my head. I have had a lot of changes since then and have taken it out of the trunk. I am just going to go slow and steady and tackle each page at a time because finally... the words are coming to fill in the pieces missing and.. I am going to write it best I can and hope I do it justice. Because working on it again reminds me how much I love this story. ❤ and how much the characters mean to me. Edited to add I just started watching a lot of your videos inteallt enjoy them and they are so informative and helpful.

[@SysterYster]

Trunking and shelfing is the same thing, right? You put a story aside for an unknown amount of time. And, surely you can do this with good stories too, but that you were unable to publish for some reason? Like, I'm pretty sure my current book is good enough to publish. But I'm equally sure no traditional publisher will publish it because I'm a debut writer and it's too long. 320k words. So, I might shelf it for a while, get other books out, then publish it later.

[@deekshab9417]

I trunked a story because I realised it was nothing but a string of slice of life one shot, and not really a plot where the character is striving towards something; or not striving towards something that is intriguing and interesting. There was nothing at stake. It was all feel good. I realised for someone reading it, it would be too banal and haphazard so I trunked it. I'm still not go to back to it but I realised as I am working on something else, that there are things I could take from it, and add to my new story. And then start the last one from scratch

[@EzequielEiben]

I always learn something new here; its a great channel. Are you planning to get all this information in a book? Like the ones of Janice Hardy. It would be nice to have all these things in written format to study them with calm. Greetings from Argentina.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I do plan on compiling all of my essays into a free ebook, but it probably won't be for a few years, since there are certain key topics I still need to cover. However, almost all of my videos now have text versions on Medium that you can study at your leisure! :) quotidianwriter.medium.com

[@carolinanilsson4006]

Watching this while working on my experimental fiction novel about time travel 😂

[@QuotidianWriter]

To be fair, novels about time travel are often more experimental in general, haha!

[@carolinanilsson4006]

@@QuotidianWriter That is very true

[@pgcnorris]

Thank you. This is exactly what I needed to ear (I already writting the 3rd novel of a 7 books saga and I strunk, not because of not knowing what I am doing, but because I don't feel confortable. I usuallly write some shorts stories and a big one (300-400 pages) per year. Bit I just can't finish It on time (As a said, not because I don't wanna, but because It doesn't work.) So I will follow your advise. Aldo, if you (Ir anybody) could tell me where to get feedback, I would be thankfullly.

[@evennot]

From my experience, editors and fellow writers can point out blind spots in terms of craft (vocabulary, repetitions, and things like that). But they might not be better judges for the story or ideas even compared to family members. One reason is that the authors aren't interchangeable. Harshest criticism I've got was from my SO. She was able to pick all the subtext and some intentions even though she DNFed. Editors' and writers' criticism left me questioning whether I'm really fit for writing at all, because they misinterpreted almost everything. Even complete strangers on the internet weren't that off in their (sometimes very critical) comments. Example: Random anon: "It's repetitive, I got that MC is just posing as a detective, no need to hammer it so much." Paid professional editor: "MC isn't a proper detective character, here's how you can fix it, so the story would be a real detective story" Maybe it's specific to Russian authors and editors, I don't know. So, my point is that relying on professionals' opinion (if it's not about technical problems) might be a bad reason to kill a project. Also I would like to add that said professional might be your future self. For instance, you wrote a silly heartwarming story and let it sit for years. You tastes became more sophisticated, you grow to despise primitive self evident things in your writing, thus when you pick it up later, it felt like trash. But it's not an indication of a bad story. Readers can glance over imperfections visible to a trained eye, but might not appreciate your evolved tastes. That's why people hate when authors keep revising and updating texts that became canonical in their unpolished versions PS. Thank you for the video!

[@s.s.85]

AKA all that I ever write.

[@deekshab9417]

Another story seems to have a need for serious editing because I never realised that stories write themselves. The parts that came naturally while writing were more compelling than the ones I had planned to write. With the parts I had planned, the writing felt forced and over the top and rather slow.

[@cruzchaps3662]

Her: let it go Disney: heyy

[@giovanadeoliveira177]

I have 3 storys in the trunk that I wrote as a teen and young adult. I really like the characters, but I've tried to fix the storys and couldn't. Maybe I put these characters in other story, thats a good idea

[@cloverslaurel7235]

I trunked a story because the plot was unsellable. It didn't fit into any genre and it tried to make an unsympathetic character the protagonist. It also didn't make much sense. lol

[@one_smol_duck]

Ha, I recently read through something I trunked years ago where I had tried to pull off the "unlikeable protagonist" thing. The story was interesting enough but he got under my skin so much -- I can't imagine how I thought anyone would be willing to sit through his narration lol.

[@jeremyheartriter2.063]

I only watched this video because I didn't know what it means to 'trunk a story'😂😂😂

[@G0TIMAN]

I wrote 3 novellas, sent 1 and now I am really ashamed because it seemed like a good idea then, and now I feel that 2 novels I sent were not good, just like the one I wrote later.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Sometimes we're our own worst critics! Even if you do end up "trunking" those projects, I bet you learned a lot about your own writing process from that experience. I hope you'll keep writing. :)

[@SavvyDork]

😍

[@DoomguyIsGrinningAtYou.]

I'm starting to get the idea writing is a lot like cooking. Sometimes, you got the wrong ingredients in the bowl. Maybe it's too bland, you didn't put enough suger and/or spice in it. Or at other times you simply have to leave it in the stove just a tad bit longer. Ultimately it all boils down to this; Are you trying to make something specific, or are you experimenting with ingredients?

[@FramePhonetics]

Great video..can u help me in finding good critique group and writers group....how do I find them?

[@QuotidianWriter]

Critique Circle and Scribophile are two popular ones! I've also found individual writing partners on Reddit (r/writing, r/DestructiveReaders, r/scifiwriting, r/fantastywriters) and Twitter (#WritingCommunity). Reedsy has a great list of options as well: blog.reedsy.com/critique-circle/

[@FramePhonetics]

@@QuotidianWriter thank you I will look into these

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

The thing is--go back some day . There might be something there.

[@russellmarvin2850]

I have two stories that I'm working on. One is a science fiction/religion the other is an erotic Tale neither one seems to be going to nicely yet. I haven't given up on them.

[@citizensguard3433]

There is no failed writing. It may be unpublishable, amateurish, even laughable at best, yet still, those scrapped projects give you experience and teach writing better than any video, needlepoint wisdoms, or advice from established authors. You'll never find a better writing class than the one between the lines of the page in front of you. At any rate, even if you feel what you're working on should be trunked (borrowing the phrase from this video) it is important to finish it anyway. Few things are more important to writing than sitting down and getting started. However, one of the few things that may well surpass even toppling the tyranny of the blank page, would be finishing what you started. Once you have finished, let sit a while and marinate. After a few weeks, or even months, then go back over what you did. Don't dive straight into the second draft, and don't scrap the entire thing before the first draft is ever finished. Otherwise, you'll suffer from that terrible, terrible affliction to which countless aspiring writers before you have fallen victim: Fleeting Draft Syndrome. You will tread water, stagnating yourself creatively by collecting boxes of partial first drafts destined to remain a piece of a whole never substantiated. Sure, that new idea you just came up with while toiling away on page 103 of the first draft for the previous new idea may seem so much more appealing and superior. After all, an idea in your head is unspoiled by the shortcomings of what you are actually able to get down on paper. Just remember: ideas are cheap; they come a dime a dozen. Even the most brilliant or original idea which exists solely in your head is worth infinitely less in reality than a subpar idea you've actually manifested into the world through your writing. Any writing you have done will better serve ALL writing you will do in the future. An amazing concept in the hands of an inexperienced, unskilled writer will always make for a bad story, whereas even the most mundane, tryte, or contrived concepts can be turned into literary gold in the hands of a good writer--a writer who has put in the time honing their craft. Keep that in mind. Don't focus so much on creating the next big thing. Don't fret over having some mind-blowing plot or premise. My best advice would be to write, even if the idea is stupid. Just make sure it interests you, because you will be living with that idea for a long time, especially if you're planning on turning it into a full-length novel. If it's your first time, or one of your first times putting together an entire book, or short story, the experience you gain working out ideas that aren't as great and will end up being trunked will make the really excellent, special stuff you think up in the future all the more refined and awesome. Happy writing and best of luck!

[@QuotidianWriter]

Brilliant. I feel inspired after reading this comment, haha! Thank you for sharing. :)

[@ronaldmayle1823]

It's good to see a video without some stuffed shirt droning on and on, and only scratching the surface, while trying to sell you something.

[@tmc3567]

I feel deflated after this video. People are arbitrary about what they like, so you could write a brilliant story that never gets recognised because of the book cover or something equally trivial. "Harry Potter" is not that special. 😠

[@PianoMan-hx3ev]

Wowww!!!! Somebody actually agrees with me! I’d say tweaking the story would make many of the trunked stories, work.I feel as if anybody could have written Harry Potter for that matter. ***So many stories get ‘shelved’ for mere subjectivity.

[@wallywest5804]

Are we still talking about little kids books? ..y.a?. I got some kids stuff; I'm just not interested in the pretenous "Karen book club writers" guide to they make women's prisons too.. or opa whinny's white women's entertainment club...just not interested..is this grown up stuff?