: Variations of the same story? I have a story I'm writing, and since when I started, it changed many times the route and focus, and in some of those changes, I found two possible paths for

Vote Up Vote Down

This can, and has been done (here is an example of something similar), but it takes your book out of the realm of conventional fiction, and reclassifies it as what is called "experimental literature," which can be influential, but which typically draws only a small niche audience. It essentially becomes metafiction --work which deliberately calls attention to itself as fiction --whether or not that is your intent. This, in itself, will make it much more challenging for your reader to suspend disbelief, and to care about your characters and their actions.

This is not to say that it is not worth doing, just that doing it well would be difficult. As with any particularly difficult task, if you pull it off successfully, the acclaim will be all the much higher (some works of this type have been highly successful). But if your aims are the standard ones of a writer --to connect with an audience through a compelling story about believable characters --you're probably better off taking Mark Baker's advice, and using your multiple versions only as personal source materials for enriching your core narrative (or for future stories exploring similar themes).

If you do elect to go the experimental route, however, you might enjoy this essay on the ways of marrying experimentalism with the depth of feeling and other pleasures of classical literature.

(0)

Vote Up Vote Down

For once, I'll say if both sound good and interesting, write both.

Since you've already chosen one path, go with it. Then, when you finish it, if you're still excited about the other path, write it too.

There are some advantages about writing both:

you won't feel bad about dropping an idea that calls to you
you'll get the idea out of your head for good so you can concentrate on other ideas
if you happen to have a change of heart, you can easily swap an ending for the other or, (if you become indecise later on) you can have a few betas reading and voting for the ending they prefer

There are disadvantages, of course:

you may be wasting time on a piece that won't leave the drawer (though every written piece is practice and, therefore, not a waste)
you may end up getting indecise again and don't know which to kill
it may hurt even more to kill a long text rather than just its idea

There is also something else you can try, though it's all but traditional and has drawbacks of its own. Write and publish the novel with your favourite ending, then publish the other ending online. At the end of the novel, invite the writers to read the alternative ending and send you feedback.

Those who are satisfied with the ending may not bother to go and read the alternative, while those who are less satisfied are more likely to take a look. Of course, anyone who's curious will take a look.

(0)

Vote Up Vote Down

Welcome to the new millennium! I disagree with traditional advice. Back in the day length of a commercial novel was dictated by how many paperback pages could be bound with the book falling apart. The length of a movie was a combination of the public's perceived attention span and the need for the theatre to fit in three showings per day.

The film industry has moved on, we now have alternative endings and directors cuts. Something that would help all aspiring writers is to have the "Author's Edition" and "Publisher's Edit" - that way we'd know what was cut and an opportunity to work out 'why'.

I recall a particularly frustrating request from a publisher. An orphaned female character wants to be an athlete. Her grandfather supports her career. After winning the Olympic title the character announces her retirement. Her grandfather expresses his disappointed but agrees to support her decision even if he doesn't understand why. In the middle of his objections she hugs him saying, "Granddad, you're great."

I believed that was probably the best ending I'd ever written. The publisher was unhappy and wanted the ending 'explained'.

For those in the cheap seats: How do you turn your grandfather in a great grandfather?

(0)

Vote Up Vote Down

There are a couple other works I am aware of that do this. I specifically remember a 1998 movie called Sliding doors. I think there is a book or a screenplay with the same name as the movie. Also there was the childrens' series, "Choose your own Adventure". The latter one had multiple endings (more than 2). The point of doing this in "Sliding Doors" was about how a split second could make a difference but in the children's series it was about the impact of choices.
Any idea can be a good idea as long as it is done well. Who wants their book to be just like all the other ones?

(0)