Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lake
For the uninitiated, to "burn down" a literary work is to take a fully or partially completed story, rip out all or a vast majority of it, reduce it to the originally envisioned core plot, and then start over again. Hence "burning it down".
I ask that because I've had to do that numerous times with one particular novel I've been working on, even going so far as to change the core plot several times along the way seeking just the right mixture to make the story work. It's not like trying an idea, failing, and giving up. This is basically razing the story down to the bones and trying again. I figure it's a fairly common thing, but how common, I guess, and to what degree, is my ultimate question.
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Man, I don't mean any disrespect, but maybe you didn't really mean to write what I just read. Maybe it was a misspeak.
You said you didn't fail and give up, but you said you "rip out all," and or "change the core plot."
I would say you started a new story.