Moving a major scene

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse

Readng through my unfinished attempt at a novel I have just realised that a big scene near the begnning would not have happened until a later stage in the relationship. Should I remove this piece and put it back where I now see it shoul be? A number of references wil have to be rewriten but I can't see any other solution..Have any of you done this? Does it work?

Viv

If you know it's in the wrong place you have no choice but to move it. Of course it happens. No novel just rolls onto the page, and they all need revision - cutting, moving thimgs about, adding bits in. It's often said that writers start in the wrong place too, so when the story is written you very often have to go back and delete the first page or two and start right in the middle of the action. What you have to do may be painful but a bit of rewriting is par for the course! And cut and paste makes it pretty easy to do these days.

Tilly

Yes, you should always follow your instincts. If you feel that this piece is in the wrong place, your readers will too. It's annoying to have to change things drastically but it will be better for it. Best of luck with it

Jay Mandal

I understand that 'The Night Watch' by Sarah Waters starts at the end and works backwards. Flashbacks can work, but I'm not sure about the reverse - you might be giving too much of the plot away. Best of luck.

Jan

It's the "joy" of editing!

Yes CrazyHorse, hone the work to its sharpest. The more precise you make each element the better it will flow and readers like to be hooked from beginning to end.

Good luck (and apologies for saying this) the editing may take as long as your original composing but will make the work marketable.

Flick

I started my latest novel with a dramatic scene and then a couple of chapters later, which explained the lead up to Chapter 1, I realised I was all over the place so I rewrote chapters 2 and 3 and put 1 in as chapter 4 - with me so far? I had a lot of people look at it and I looked at it and now chapter 4 is back at chapter 1, the way I originally wrote it.  Now I'm confused!!! but the message is - don't be afraid to move things. What feels right, will be right in the end.

Carol

Just keep a copy of your original version on your system in case it doesn't work, and you go back to the original.

Patty

In one novel I have opened with the hero conspicuous by his absence, and the heroine does not appear until Chapter Six. 
The manuscript is being critiqed by the RNA, and I hope, for £78 I shall not be told to pick up the Rule Book again.

Crazy Horse

Thanks folks at least I am not alone in this situation. I suppose what worries me is that there are numerous ties to this scene and I will probably miss some leaving loose ends. I 've also realised that the next scene uses something brought back from the cruise in the scene I am about to  Move. A good point is to save the ealier editions..

Joanne

Jay, you're right about "The Night Watch", which I've recently finished. I think in this case the backwards technique works quite well, but then Sarah Waters is a very experienced novelist!

Crazy Horse, I write short stories rather than novels so am working on a smaller scale.  However I often include too much at the beginning of a story and on editing it I find things work better if I gradually drip that information in later. Sometimes when you have a really good scene in your head you're eager to use it sooner rather than later, but the flow of the story/novel should dictate the right place to put it. Don't be afraid to reorganise and rewrite.  You want your work to be the best it can possibly be when you send it out.

Crazy Horse

Thanks Carol, Patty, Flick et al. Quite right a good idea occus and you feel you have to write it in right there. As soon as I had moved the scene (one of my best) the whole thing clicked into place, the improvemet was huge. I've now found several minor scenes which will benefit from a timing change. As you recommended I took a copy before and after so that I could read them alongside and see the effect.

Butterfly

I've just had to do this with a novel for  7-9 years. I thought it wouldn't ever go back together, but it did. It's a bit like doing a jigsaw  puzzle. But you can interchange the pieces if you need too. I'm now waiting to find out if the editor is as please with what I did. If not I'll be refitting the jigsaw again. Cutting and reshaping each piece. I want it to be the best it can be and if I have to keep on doing this swapping and cutting so be it. It is scary but I'm sure it is good for you to learn as a writer. I learnt a lot doing this. (at least I hope it did!)