I was talking to my husband about this exact phenomenon this morning over breakfast with one slight alteration. This is not happening to me with a story I read. It is with a story I wrote two years ago. Even though I finally decided to "trunk it" I find myself drifting back there all the time. I started to question whether or not I should have taken the plunge and just tried to publish it since it is a time and place that lives on in my mind (where so many other stories have come and gone).
After a long and honest discussion about my impressions of where that draft really "is," my husband presented me with an assignment: abandon my half-assed CampNaNoWriMo project and use this month to work my ass off on the story that just won't go away.
I think he might be right about this.
Although I am terrified. I haven't reread the story in at least eight months. And the last time I read it, I was so distraught I decided to throw in the towel.
What if the memory is prettier than the words? What if my initial edits were all written in the wrong direction? What if this story is truly destined for the trunk?
I guess it is time to find out.
No more excuses. I am jumping back in.
Wish me luck.
Congratulations on making the big decision to return to your story. You obviously have an idea there that needs to be told. Whether it is an edit of the "trunked" draft, or a do-over, something in you needs that world to exist. You are wise to listen when it calls, and lucky to have such a strong calling.
ReplyDeleteGo for it Nicole! That story world is clinging to you for a reason; it's begging to be explored and completed! Your husband has the right idea. Eight months is a long break, but it helps to recharge your batteries and attack it with a fresh perspective. Maybe the memory is prettier than the words, as you say. But there's only one way to find out.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!