Have you ever forgotten details of your own story and had to go back and re-read all, most, or part of your own story in order to continue with the plot that you are currently working on.

Or have you ever mixed up plot details because you are working on two different stories at once and you think you wrote some small detail in one and mixed it up accidentally with another story you are working on.

I'm currently working on Letters and I had to go back and read what I wrote about one of my characters, I couldn't find what I wanted and I ended up reading my whole story in order to find the area about what I wrote.

So have you ever done something like this?

It's definitely happened to me a lot.

I've had instances where I've completely forgotten how far with the plot I had gone before, and I've had to re-read. I recall writing a chapter once, getting it edited by a friend who said something like, "Uh, you just rewrote the whole scene from the last chapter".

I think it's mainly because I take long breaks before writing a new chapter.

that happened with me when i restarted working on my fic Condemnation. i had taken a LONG break from it (like 6 months) and had to read it over from the beginning before writing the next chapter to it...lol oh well, it was fun

This happens to me all the time. Not only do I forget plot points and character descriptions, but sometimes, I forget the tone or flow of a story. For example, in my oneshot "Unplanned" (which is no longer a oneshot), I set a certain flow, and used incremental repetition to set a certain tone. I do not generally use such devices, but it seems that for that particular story, it worked well. Sometimes, a tone can be so overwhelming, that you really need to get into that mindset again, otherwise, whatever you write, even if the content is right and fits perfectly, will seem like a tacked on piece. Cohesiveness is so important that I usually end up reading through everything between each update. It takes a lot of time, but it is usually worth it.

Looking back on my own fanfiction?

I choose not to, because I'm disgusted. They are called beta readers, they are always willing to help, so why did I not use them? How hard would it have been to proofread my work before publishing? Why is it that I acknowledge all these mistakes but I continue to make them?

Basically yeah it's hard looking back at my fanfiction. When I do there is always stuff I want to change and I wish my dialogue didn't look so generic sometimes.

Haha--that happens to me all the time when I stop working on a story for longer than a month

Yeah, I have to go back and read my stories sometimes, especially if it has been a while since I last worked on them. Partially, it's to remember what I had already written, but it also helps me get into the mood of the story and to remember what I had planned for future chapters.

Most definitely...and it somehow contributes to the delay in updating since I just cannot find the motivation to read all thirty chapters again... (this applies to my stories like Wisteria and Love after Loss, especially the latter) But of course, as I promised, I'd finish them up no matter what once my exams are over!

I like to think that I have a good memory, but yes, this has happened to me a lot, especially with TT (the writing process of which has spanned over two years now >,>). It usually happens when I'm in the middle of writing a new chapter, then remember a scene or coversation earlier on in the fic that might be relevant to where the fic stands at the present. So I'll go back to check that scene or conversation to see if it really was useful for the plot I'm pushing forward. :3

Yes, I have. I once had to go back and reread a story because I forgot what season I was supposed to be in. I thought it was winter but it was spring... sad.

I don't look back at my own much. I have a few choice favorites, but most make me cringe

i must confess that i do this all the time. it's largely in fault to the fact that i don't write that often, months at a time, and often forget tiny little details that are vital in the story. so sad.

TamashaToko wrote:
Looking back on my own fanfiction?

I choose not to, because I'm disgusted. They are called beta readers, they are always willing to help, so why did I not use them? How hard would it have been to proofread my work before publishing? Why is it that I acknowledge all these mistakes but I continue to make them?

Basically yeah it's hard looking back at my fanfiction. When I do there is always stuff I want to change and I wish my dialogue didn't look so generic sometimes.

Haha, I can totally relate to that.
Have you guys ever been.. well, BORED to read your fanfiction again?
It happens to me a lot, and then I feel like, "Why would I even think about publishin this? Everyone's gonna' be just as bored as me" LOL.

I have the habit of reading the last chapter I wrote before writing a new one, but most of the time I re-read the whole story. By doing that, it helps me think on what to write next.

I am ashamed to admit that I have written a story that was half way through, when I didn't like the way it was going, and deleted it to start all over again. I have only done this to only one story and is pleased at the direction its going now, but it confuses the readers.

Sometimes I think I should have stuck with it to see where it was going, but I wasn't happy with it. The story would have stayed unfinished or I have would have deleted it.

Has anyone else thought about starting over again or deleting their story?

Oh my god i do that all the time. Sometimes i go back and reread things that i have written just to remember what it was and i remember thinkning at the time i was writing it that i hated it and wasn't proud of how it turned out but when i go back to read it, i'm surprised by just how good it was. I get shocked. It's utterly mindblowing.

Twilight Dawn wrote:
I have the habit of reading the last chapter I wrote before writing a new one, but most of the time I re-read the whole story. By doing that, it helps me think on what to write next.

I am ashamed to admit that I have written a story that was half way through, when I didn't like the way it was going, and deleted it to start all over again. I have only done this to only one story and is pleased at the direction its going now, but it confuses the readers.

Sometimes I think I should have stuck with it to see where it was going, but I wasn't happy with it. The story would have stayed unfinished or I have would have deleted it.

Has anyone else thought about starting over again or deleting their story?

Definitely thought about rewriting Complacency.
I feel that although the plans I had for the story were big and it was amazing in my head, it didn't turn out so well when I put it on paper. I'm not so sure if it's okay the way I wrote it earlier, and-

Oh yeah, does it bother you guys when you don't get reviews? Like, you get tonnes of hits but reviews are lacking? I feel like I lack the feedback necessary to properly judge my writing for what it's worth. Like, friends are okay, but they tend to sugarcoat everything when they tell me what to do. I don't trust their criticism LOL. I always feel like I need more sets of eyes to tell me if I'm doing good/bad/okay, and sometimes, the lack of such feedback sometimes makes me feel like what I've written is worse than it actually is.

Can you guys relate? Or is it just me? XD

Twilight Dawn wrote:
I have the habit of reading the last chapter I wrote before writing a new one, but most of the time I re-read the whole story. By doing that, it helps me think on what to write next.

I am ashamed to admit that I have written a story that was half way through, when I didn't like the way it was going, and deleted it to start all over again. I have only done this to only one story and is pleased at the direction its going now, but it confuses the readers.

Sometimes I think I should have stuck with it to see where it was going, but I wasn't happy with it. The story would have stayed unfinished or I have would have deleted it.

Has anyone else thought about starting over again or deleting their story?


I have done this with enitre chapters. Usually if I don't like something I delete it and will start again. I have started a story once, I think it was Numbing the Pain, and I ended up deleting 13,000 words because I didn't like the direction of the story.

I think the worse case has been with the novel I am writing. I was nearly finished chapter eight and decided that I wanted to change the beginning plot so I deleted it and began over again.

Have you ever forgotten details of your own story and had to go back and re-read all, most, or part of your own story in order to continue with the plot that you are currently working on.

Yes, the one time I didn't do that ended up in a confusing story, but usually when I have to do that, I don't end up finishing the story.

Angelic Memories wrote:
Have you ever forgotten details of your own story and had to go back and re-read all, most, or part of your own story in order to continue with the plot that you are currently working on.

Or have you ever mixed up plot details because you are working on two different stories at once and you think you wrote some small detail in one and mixed it up accidentally with another story you are working on.

I'm currently working on Letters and I had to go back and read what I wrote about one of my characters, I couldn't find what I wanted and I ended up reading my whole story in order to find the area about what I wrote.

So have you ever done something like this?

Oh goodness....story of my life! I always get my story ideas mixed up because I have soo many stories. And most of the time I scrap most of my stories because when I go back to read it I hate what I wrote.

Angelic Memories wrote:
Have you ever forgotten details of your own story and had to go back and re-read all, most, or part of your own story in order to continue with the plot that you are currently working on.

Or have you ever mixed up plot details because you are working on two different stories at once and you think you wrote some small detail in one and mixed it up accidentally with another story you are working on.

I'm currently working on Letters and I had to go back and read what I wrote about one of my characters, I couldn't find what I wanted and I ended up reading my whole story in order to find the area about what I wrote.

So have you ever done something like this?


Goodness am I ever guilty of this! I have writings from 4 years ago that I just stopped working on and almost completely forgot about. A computer crash also didn't help since I lost almost 10 chapters of my story "Dark Beauty" that way. I recently re-read one of my stories that are in the Single Spark archives, and it made me want to write new chapters for it. The only problem was I didn't remember how I got some of the details for the story since I haven't watched the series for a long time either.

It happened to me a couple times. Once I had Kagome's first kiss a couple times cause I'd forgotten the last one...whoops!

I haven't done that one but what i have done is forgotten what a story I've written is about and that I even wrote it. I've had that happen more than once with some of my older stuff. When I go to post them somewhere new I have to actually read part of it to try to remember what it's about to write the blurp about it

This unfortunately happens to me ALL the time. Especially when I'm editing and stuff. Then again I am very forgetful to a degree.

Ugh, done this SO many times. I have to go back to read for details, or even to remember exactly the way I have worded things. I usually don't mix my stories up, but I definitely reread, even if just to be sure I've been keeping with the same tone and character attitudes.

most definitely~

I usually take long breaks between chapters, and presently, all of my chapter stories are incomplete, so when I take time to write, I usually look at previous chapters to figure out the flow better, or if I just forgot what happened. :3