Excited About Writing... Again

So I spent a few months editing an old story, I mean I had written it years ago. The premise was good however when I wrote the story I honestly didn’t have the skill to execute it effectively. As time rolled on and I edited and edited… and kept on editing. I continued having a feeling that the story may not be working out like I’d hoped. The plot wasn’t working and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it without starting from scratch. So I kept plodding away tweaking things here and there hoping the small changes would make a difference. Honestly, I just should have realized that the best way to go was to scrap the whole thing and start over. But, I didn’t want to give up on all that work I’d already done. So, instead I made it all the way to the end enduring the nagging sensation that this story wasn’t what I wanted it to be. Once it was done I asked a few lovely, wonderful people to critique it for me… and low and behold they felt the same as I did. Certain elements of the story were fantastic, but the overall flow of the story and the plot were both muddled and lacking. So as you guessed I scrapped it… sort of. Out of that dismal failure was born a story idea so freaking awesome I can’t wait to get cracking on it.

Now, here’s what makes the whole experience even better. Not only did a lovely new story idea come from the disaster of the initial story, but I learned enough from it to work effectively on my current story. My current WIP is also one I’d started a while ago, however this time I was able to realize the issues this story had BEFORE I got too deep in. This time I was able to realize that cutting the parts that didn’t work early on instead of trying to save what I’d already written, would save me time and creative energy overall. The amazingness that has sprung from my current story is made of pure awesome and had I not had the experience with the first story, my current one wouldn’t be the loveliness it’s turning into. I have never enjoyed writing more than I do now, knowing that I have more of the skills required to turn mere words into art. Sometimes failure is really success in disguise.