Most of writing is rewriting, they say. But, this focuses on what can feel like drudgery and ignores the fun side of fiction rewriting: Exploring the multiverse of your imagination.
Many physicists hypothesize that our universe could be multiple, alternate versions of our universe: The multiverse theory. The differences between these realities could be subtle or they could be grand.
Can you imagine multiple versions of life as you know it where certain events played out differently? What if you had a different job? What if you never met your previous or current partner? What if you channeled your passion or frustration through something very different? What are some other “What if’s…?” you can think of for your life?
Not only is this a fun writing exercise, it can be a great way to fine-tune, challenge, or fix a story draft.
No story you draft has to play out exactly as you have outlined it or imagined it. Especially if something isn’t working. Engage the multiverse of your imagination. Push the boundaries of your expectations and see if there is a more interesting version of the story that accommodates or improves your piece.
This is, in a way, HOW I write. When I’m tuning a story, I often go back and challenge principle elements of the story. Isn’t that partly how we work out story conflict? You “What if…?” your story into something more and more interesting.
One of the best experiments is to challenge your expectations of the principle characters. They're our darlings, after all, but maybe you need to challenge the convenient, curated disposition you’ve produce for them. What ifthe protagonist was unfriendly? What if the antagonist was likeable? What if there is a secondary ally who competes with your principle character? You'll be forced to support those changes which will inform the rest of the story. Kind of like in real life, these challenges help your character grow.
I’ll have to write another post which illustrates examples of how this can work across character, setting and other story elements.
Okay, but how do you keep it all these variations straight? Every day that I sit down to revise a short story, I Save As... a copy with that day’s date. This is insurance against multiverses that collapse on themselves. It can also help serve as a history of the evolution of the story. But it also allows me to play around in the multiverse of my imagination and always develop the version that best satisfies the story.
When you are writing, don’t be afraid—especially if you’re stuck—to poke your head through the fabric of your multiverse imagination and re-vision things.