pov!fail

[marguerite_26]

So, say you finish a rough draft of a short fic (<3k) and it feels off and you realise that's because you picked the wrong POV! It's fine, kinda. :/
But it doesn't really have the feel that you wanted and it's coming out a bit stilted because you missed the point of the whole thing because of the wrong POV choice.

Do you:
a) say fuck it and post it anyway - pwp/throwaway fic - no one's going to notice but you.
b) ditch it and start fresh
c) post it and then write the entire fic in the opposite POV and call it a writing experiment.

:(((

~~~

Weekend was crazy-ass crazy. Had a lovely time with my sis. This week is just nuts with 'stuff' and there's still half dozen really lovely new fics making them do it being added every day. Also, I am behind on everything. Cheers!

Comments

[nenne.livejournal.com]

I'm not a writer myself, but somewhat of a perfectionist, so my advise would be to write it over from the right POV.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I do want to write it from the 'right' POV (eventually). :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

B, but don't delete it in case I have a late rush of enthusiasm for it and then go with C ;-)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

well it's almost post-ready, so B isn't much more work than C. *g*

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

Tough call. :/ If I noticed something like this, I would probably have to start fresh. Continuing with the wrong POV would be too distracting because I would know and that would prevent me from properly focusing on what I am doing. But I'm easily distracted anyway!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I toughed it out to get the rough draft done, trying to make the POV work through story telling but I think it reads contrived. :/

Then again I know how I wanted to fic to sound in my head, which the readers doesn't. lol.

[waltzing-mice.livejournal.com]

You wrote it the way you felt, which was another POV. So I say post it.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I think the first scene works well in either POV (which is why I got confused) then the last scene... IDEK. the POV makes a bigger difference.

Which is why I think maybe seeing both fics might be cool. :)

[lolafeist.livejournal.com]

I vote C.

Also I HATE it when I do that. ;_;

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

IKR? It sucks when you get to a certain point in the fic and it's like SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!! I'm suddenly writing a different fic just because of my POV choice!

I'm leaning towards C too. Just because it's INTERESTING!

[vaysh11.livejournal.com]

C. It's all a writing experiment, one way or another. :)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

ha! true. It's just a matter of how public I make it. LOL.

[faithwood.livejournal.com]

But it doesn't really have the feel that you wanted and it's coming out a bit stilted

B. I always regret it later when I post something I'm not happy with.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Hee! Well, you are a bigger perfectionist than I am. :)

What do you think of C? It's like remixing your own fic!!! (or is it more like airing your dirty laundry?)

[hermette.livejournal.com]

I vote C!

(I have 12k of fic that is in the wrong tense. D:)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

ack! like 12k of never posted because you preferred a different tense? *meep*

Maybe if you didn't have the heart to, you could get a kind soul to volunteer to help you flip it?

[joan-waterhouse.livejournal.com]

As a writer I'd advise you to choose B. But I'm a perfectionist who over thinks everything and needs months to finish a drabble, so... ;)

As a reader, though, I'D strongly advise you to choose C. :D

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm totally not a perfectionist - especially with this kind of fic. I like it fun and a bit silly and I don't mind the 'here's my mistakes' idea of C. ;)

[melusinahp.livejournal.com]

This sort of happened to me with my hols fic! I ended up writing the scene over again from the other character's POV, but I've still got the original.

So, my advice is to re-write before you post, but then maybe post both bits together. At least that's what I'm advising as a self-centred and greedy reader. ;P

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

oof! I remember how much you struggled with hols! *cries* so many hard choices especially with the type of fic you decided to go with.

I'm really curious which pov you would go with. It's this comment fic (http://marguerite-26.livejournal.com/515440.html?thread=9183600#t9183600) which is already posted as a wip. I think Arthur's thought process is too important to the fic that the whole thing falls apart in Merlin's POV. Though... IDEK. There are some things I like about Merlin's pov.

still!! It's a comment fic - so trying not to take it too seriously! Which is why C might be fun. :)))

[bohemiabythesea.livejournal.com]

Has happened to me a few times, and the only solution in those cases has always been to rewrite from the POV that seemed to be the correct one.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

*sigh* yeah... I'll be re-writing. Though it might feel like less wasted effort if I call it an experiment and pretends it's all for fun. LOL.

[eldee.livejournal.com]

I would go with C or else D) edit the crap out of it.

I've done that before, with a few thousand word fic, which I just sort of went through part by part and changed PoV/tense. It is a rewrite, but what you have now is like an outline so it's not ditching it completely. But if you're not happy with it as it stands, I wouldn't do A either.

BUT C is also an excellent thing because it is fun to do writing experiments like that too. Good learning experiences. :)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I could def. edit the crap out of it, though it will still be a different fic than I had intended to write, I think. Which is okay - but part of me wants to see HOW DIFFERENT two fics can be just based on POV, you know? :)

[lordhellebore]

As a total perfectionist and someone who would not want to post something that I'm not really liking myself because it doesn't convey what I want to convey -- definitely b! But I'd keep the document with the old version open while I write the new version to see what I could incorporate from the old version.

*hug* It sucks when this happens.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I totally get that. For me, it's not one of those fics that I take too seriously. It's a comment fic that's a spot of fun that grew into something like a real fic.

I don't hate it, but IDEK - it's not the fic I thought I was first writing because the POV does not allow it.

Though, I think c is my best bet.

[mpoetess.livejournal.com]

*eyes 12k of fic rewritten from present to past just to see if I could / provide another option for those allergic to present*

I vote C. THIS IS PROBABLY NOT A SHOCK.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking of you as I typed this up!!! I loved that experiment and think of it often (almost every time I read a present tense fic)! :DDDD

yeah - C is highly likely.

[rickey-a.livejournal.com]

penis!

[potteresque_ire]

Second!!!!

[kathyh]

I'm not a writer so I don't think my opinion counts, but would it work with alternating pov in the same fic, then as a reader I get the best of both worlds *g*.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

It's really too short to justify an alternating POV. It's a style that can work in certain scenarios, but I'm not a fan of it in this kind of fic. :)

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

B: start fresh and post the fic that you meant to write.

Then post the first fic and call it a writing experiment. :-)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Wellllll... I already have the first POV half posted as a WIP and been tweaking it today. It's growing on me. We'll see. :/

[tracy7307.livejournal.com]

I went through this with an author, and I was the beta. I agreed with her when she felt the POV was all wrong, and she went back and redid everything from a 3rd person POV (your option B), which turned out to be amazing; however, this was a mega-huge-epic fic.

Since your fic is smaller, and if you feel up to it, my personal opinion is C! It would be an excellent experiment and a great way to have an interesting discourse with your readers.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Yes - with a long fic, it can make a world of difference. POVs can make or break a fic. This is a tiny PWP so I feel a bit lame worrying about it. LOL.

I think C would be a good exercise for me as a writer.

[potteresque_ire]

*looks around shiftily at the perfectionist around her*

I'd say it depends on how important this fic is to you—if this is just a passerby thought / idea I'd say just post it and move on (for example, I doubt I will write my pink unicorn comment in a different POV, no matter how much better it can be :D )... and point out briefly what POV you think may work better and why. In a way, you're letting your readers write it in their heads, which can come up with a fun discussion about writing as well, just to see if others see it the same way / agree by looking at the story from AFAR. :D.

MOST IMPORTANT Q: DID YOU INTRODUCE YOUR SIS TO MERLIN?

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Well - that's is exactly. This isn't anything I put more than a couple hours into and um.. it's not bad as is, just didn't come out like I intended.

So I think I might post as is, then tinker with re-writing and see if I had a valid reason to want to change POVs because yeah.. fun discussions are fun! :)

[b-b-banana.livejournal.com]

i've gone with b) many, many times, but that "better" version of the fic never got around to being written and that is why it takes me years to post anything, haha. so in this case, i'd say c) for you. :d

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

You see, this is what I am afraid of. I could post the fic TOMORROW and it would be 'fine' and actually, I've been fiddling with it and it;s okay and well - it's a throw away PWP anyway! so whatever!

But then I can poke at a re-write and just 'play' with a second version.

But if I don't post it tomorrow, I'm not going ever bother because I AM A LAZY ASS.

[woldy]

Unless the deadline is really imminent, I'd probably re-write it, but when working to deadlines I'm a big fan of 'good enough'.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

no deadline other than the fact that I have a lot on my plate and it's a total 'throw away' fic so devoting the time to re-write seems a little silly. :)

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

C B A in that order, babe.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

er? really? lol. Because C makes B and A not necessary - though maybe you know that and are being terribly sneaky!!!

[accioslash.livejournal.com]

A, C, B - in that order. If it were a fic you were more emotionally invested in, I'd go straight to B. This scenario makes me think of Dementordelta's "The Dreaming Spires" (sorry, you may not have read that one since it's Snarry). But she wrote it in Harry's pov and it was good, but she knew something was 'off' and then wrote it in Snape's pov and it became a Snarry staple. Good luck with whatever you decide, hon.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I'm totally not invested just more of a hun, oops! I meant to start that in another POV but I accidentally already posted 2/3 of the fic. :/

I think I will go with A and then C (as my muse inspires).

Oh man, I love when a great fic gets written in another POV and then it's even so much better! \o/

[itachitachi.livejournal.com]

If it was me, I'd start writing the better POV version before posting the one that's finished, just to see if it comes out right. If I finish it and it's more awesome than the first one, yay! Post. If I don't like it or never finish it, post the initial one and no one will ever have to know... If I like both of them, why not post both of them? :)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

That's a great idea. I think I'll poke at the opposing POV and see if it totally flows or stalls. brill idea.

[lunadeath02.livejournal.com]

I vote (c)! Maybe just look it over again for errors or whatnot and then do another one in the other pov?

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

C! very likely. Though I will probably do a) and then poke to see if the grass really is greener. LOL.