# Writers, do you ever find yourself doing this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2016, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825 "2016-05-15T10:12:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/1 "2016-05-15T10:12:54Z")
Finishing a story and it’s done but you’re not, and so you end up writing the whole thing again from the point of view of another character just to see what new things come out and suddenly birds are chirping and it’s 5 am and you were going to spend the weekend spring cleaning but it’s 5 am Sunday and realistically you’re going to sleep until noon? I’m going to bed now…I think. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/2 "2016-05-15T10:33:57Z")
> [@Magicicada](#): > > Finishing a story and it’s done but you’re not, and so you end up writing the whole thing again from the point of view of another character just to see what new things come out and suddenly birds are chirping and it’s 5 am and you were going to spend the weekend spring cleaning but it’s 5 am Sunday and realistically you’re going to sleep until noon? I’m going to bed now…I think. Nope. But like all writers, I do my best proof-reading after I’ve submitted the story. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/3 "2016-05-15T11:34:58Z")
Not once I finish, but I have changed things during the draft. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/4 "2016-05-15T23:31:18Z")
Sorry, guys, I really screwed that up. I’m talking about a situation where you’ve done all the editing you’re going to do, at least until you’ve slept on it a bit, and writing a sequel isn’t going to happen because you’ve left the story and characters where they need to be left, but you miss the characters and the setting so much that you have to stay in that place and you end up writing your own fan fic. It’s kind of a writing exercise or maybe something masturbatory, but sometimes you do start seeing details that didn’t pop out the first time around. For instance, the main character recalls and interprets a conversation in one way, but a secondary character hears something a bit different or picks up on certain nuances, including the behavior of the main character. Sorry, not enough sleep… ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/5 "2016-05-15T23:47:31Z")
Okay, yeah, once, kinda. I wrote a book, where, in addition to all the major and minor characters, there was one minor “off-stage” character. Later, for a specific submission and market, I wrote a short story that re-tells some of the book, from that character’s p.o.v. I actually did refer to it, when chatting with friends and family, as “fan fic in my own universe.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/6 "2016-05-16T00:16:15Z")
Orson Scott Card famously did this, though it’s not clear whether that was because he couldn’t get enough of the world, or just for the paycheck. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/7 "2016-05-16T00:51:01Z")
When I write a romance (don’t laugh at me, I love doing it), I’ll write scenes from both the woman’s and man’s perspective just so I can see how it feels and sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/8 "2016-05-16T04:20:28Z")
OK, now I’m feeling better. I was feeling kind of weird there. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-do-you-ever-find-yourself-doing-this/754825/9 "2016-05-16T04:28:16Z")
No, but I’ve repeatedly change POV from 1st to 3rd or 3rd to 1st thousands and thousands of words into stories.