One of the many aspects of sci-fi franchise Dr Who that endears it to its fans is the the concept of The Doctor being reborn as a new person when they die. This is a clever mechanic that allows the TV show to stay fresh and relevant without being tied down to one star actor. But what this essentially does is restart the story entirely from a different perspective, since each iteration of the doctor has their own distinct personality and approach to life. Intellectual properties spanning books, comics, television, film and video games have gone through periods where they need to wipe the slate clean, pick out only the most fundamental of core tenets, and "start over." These are called reboots.
Why start over?
When writing a long term story with multiple installments, over time issues may arise that may compromise your original vision for the story. It could be your story failing to keep up with the current climate or zeitgeist, it could be your continuity having over time grown too bloated and confusing to keep track of. Maybe your main characters have evolved to the point where they have outgrown your vision and you want to stay true to that vision. Or you might simply want to take the story in a new direction without having to worry about baggage from your old story. Regardless of the reasons why, sometimes it is necessary to reboot your story to keep it fresh and relevant.
Hard reboot vs soft reboot
Even within your decision to restart your story, there are different levels to how far you want to go with it. I'll illustrate with two examples from Marvel and DC comics. In 2015, Marvel produced a massive comics storyline called Secret Wars in which it's vast multiverse was all consolidated into one world. The culmination of this storyline massively changed much of the marvel universe and set up a new status quo....but the characters were able to continue their lives and storyarcs while adjusting to the new changes. This is a soft reboot, where you keep some continuity with the original series, but introduce changes in style, tone, or intent. On the flip side, in 2011 DC published flashpoint, a massive storyline where The Flash went back in time to save his mother and in doing so completely rewrote DC history. The culmination of this storyline completely wiped away old DC continuity and literally restarted almost every comic book from scratch. This is a hard reboot, where the narrative is stripped down to its core and literally everything else is restarted from the beginning.
Should you continue the current storyline in your reboot?
The choice between doing a hard reboot or a soft one should be dictated by the story you are currently telling. Ask yourself if your current storyarc is important enough to keep going despite starting your entire narrative over? And when you make that choice, at what point does it make sense to end the storyarc of the old version and/or introduce the new? This moment could be a perfect jumping off point for readers unwilling to give your new version a chance, but could also be a good jumping on point for new readers. Personally, it was DC comics' 1990s soft reboot of Green Lantern (which saw the corps destroyed, it's most iconic lantern turning evil, and the last green lantern ring being given to a random guy with no heroic background) that interested me in giving the book a try...and quickly becoming my absolute favorite superhero comic. You also have the option of tying your story into your impending restart, or letting the story run it's course independent of the reboot to give the old narrative a clean break.
What to keep and what to throw out
When stripping your story down to its core, it's important to correctly decide what elements to keep and what can be left on the cutting room floor. What are the elements that truly make your story what it is? The Predator movie franchise has been rebooted and retold multiple times, but its DNA remains the same: technologically advanced aliens hunting other intelligent species for sport. You can probably explain your most important story aspects in one sentence (your "elevator pitch"). There might be some beloved details that might be worth keeping also, but the core concept of your story should be what you focus on determining. Once you've determined that core, then what else you want to keep or change in your new iteration are up to your discretion.
Taking new approaches with your new story
Relaunching your story will provide an opportunity to take your core elements in new and exciting directions. Now you have the freedom to explore new possibilities without being bogged down by previous continuity. Valiant comics' 2012 restart allowed the company to explore their flagship comics' ideas in newer, more contemporary space with new approaches to character, setting and storytelling, all without compromising the foundational elements that made those properties popular to begin with. You can take your story from the concrete jungles to a real jungle, set it in Camelot or the Wild West, change the gender, ethnicity or social status of your central characters, and either modernize or make more archaic your story details. The James Bond franchise changes tone, interpretation and points of emphasis with each new actor to take over the role, but the movies still maintain the overall look and feel of all James Bond movies.
If the reboot fails
Not all reboots are well received. The rehashed V television series was soundly rejected by audiences, as was the GI Joe Extreme cartoon. The all-female Ghostbusters got a mixed response at best, and CSI: Las Vegas failed to recapture the magic of the original series. A failed relaunch may demand even another relaunch attempt, but in that instance you need to take a hard look at what it was about your reboot that failed to connect with audiences. This may lead you to doing some research and interviewing and then to a reevaluation of what made your original story work as well as how your new iteration missed the mark. Then you use that data to try again.
Conclusion
Starting an established story over with a reboot can be an intimidating task, but if approached correctly can be a liberating writing exercize that can take your story in new and intriguing directions. If you or your audience feels like your story is getting stale or bigger down, you may want to consider this option.
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