Serial writing and retconning

So, I've posted three chapters of a Dark Fantasy story on Literotica, and have reached a possible ending. The story is currently So Okay, It's Average, but I should be able to improve it once I get more experience from writing other stories. Once I do that, I have ideas for how to continue it, but the current main character will be good for a maximum of nine chapters (probably more like seven.)

Unfortunately, I didn't really know where I was going with this when I began it, so a lot of the ideas I now have for it aren't foreshadowed. Most of it can be added in subtly when I do a rewrite, but my idea for giving the main character a Cannibalism Superpower would require a bit more change than I'm sure is acceptable. If I don't include this in the first three chapters, I won't have a good place to demonstrate it until far too late in the story for it to come off as anything other than New Powers as the Plot Demands. My question is, is it better to rewrite what's already been posted in order to demonstrate the power, or to change my plans for where the story's headed? (I do think that the ending I've thought of doing with the Cannibalism Superpower is more powerful than anything I've thought of doing without the power.)

(And yes, I am aware of No Plot? No Problem!, but I personally take the "plot" part of Plot With Porn seriously.)

edited 30th Sep '11 6:06:14 PM by feotakahari

Um, sometimes retconning can be like "where the heck did that come from?" to the reader. And if not many people have already read your work, I don't see a problem in doing a re-write.

Just think of what you've already posted as a draft and you're just improving it. I know I've gone back and changed a bunch of stuff in my story because I thought of better literary devices and plot for the end.

Foreshadowing is an optional thing, especially since you appear to be writing spontaneously. Don't worry about it. Takes the fun out of spontaneous writing.

I have similar problems occasionally with Naruto fic. I, personally, take it as a challenge to retcon what I've already written into compliance with what I plan, without resorting to Orwellian Retcon. If you can't do that, then it's your choice whether or not to rewrite; I wouldn't, but that's more a personal challenge.