Pick and Pull: Recycling for a New Story

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Back in 2010, I talked about a story that started off as a project that I loved but was yet terrified of trying to write, and later was sent to the Scrap Pile. I couldn't pull the story together. As much as I love those characters, I just could not make that story work. In the above mentioned post, I said that I was sending it the scrap pile. "I will leave it in tact like a car in the junkyard to be sold for parts when needed. Who knows, maybe Jared and Caitlin will find happiness in another story that is more my style. They deserve it after all I’ve put them through."

Well, guess what. Exactly what I said would happen, happened. They are no longer Jared and Caitlin, and are now Amanda and Nate. Her backstory is almost exactly the same. His has changed a great deal. The deep connection between them is the same, well, actually stronger. They are no longer facing the end of the world, but were brought together by a wish that could mean death for one of them. But someone is pulling the strings and bringing these two together.

The stakes are high, the love is deep, and the characters are full of dimension. I am currently calling the story The Wish, but that will probably change. It's already changed once from Local Lore, I had picked that name, because of it's connection to Brazilian folklore. I felt the name was too weak, and didn't connect the reader to the story properly.

I say all this to say--it can happen. Those discarded darlings can be revived. It takes time. I had to step away from the project for two years, discover a new culture, and experience life from a new perspective.

I cannot use all of the 10K words that I dedicated to Touch of Light, but I have found a home for a love story that needed proper attention. Maybe you have a few stories in the scrap pile that feel abandoned. Sometimes that is where they stay. But, sometimes, they will see the light again. We just have to give them time to breathe.


Have you ever saved a story from the scrap pile? Do you still miss some of your discarded darlings? Do you try to revive them, or do you accept their new home in the junkyard?