I am not 100% certain of this, but it is more than likely that my Harvey story will be tossed to the curb. Sure, I have a draft in hand, but as I have said many times (at least to myself and my local friends, if not on this blog), I am not feeling the story. It started out as a book to be written for the kids, my kids, and since I've read it to them, and they liked it, I've accomplished a goal. But having it published? Laney's adventures with Harvey aren't good enough for the masses. And more importantly, I'm not sure I will ever get the tale to that point. Again, because I am not feeling the story; I'm not inspired.
I have mixed emotions about this curb tossing incident. I've spent much of the last 9 months with these characters, infusing them with life and action and seeing how they deal with the everyday and not so everyday problems. I poured a part of me into every scene, and used my kids' personae for secondary characters. If I shelve the story, it will be like I am taking a piece of my life away and dooming it to an existence covered in dust.
Then I think of the whole picture. I finished a story. A story! A 45,000 word story, that if put together, is a decent sized book. And if I were interested in self-publishing, I could probably do it. Furthermore, the journey I took while I wrote that story has enabled me to become a better writer. So even if I need to place Harvey on the shelf, I certainly better keep him accessible and dust-free so that when the time comes, and another idea pops into my head, I can use what I know and write the firecracker novel that simmers beneath the surface of my mind.
Cutting teeth is really hard. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I have mixed emotions about this curb tossing incident. I've spent much of the last 9 months with these characters, infusing them with life and action and seeing how they deal with the everyday and not so everyday problems. I poured a part of me into every scene, and used my kids' personae for secondary characters. If I shelve the story, it will be like I am taking a piece of my life away and dooming it to an existence covered in dust.
Then I think of the whole picture. I finished a story. A story! A 45,000 word story, that if put together, is a decent sized book. And if I were interested in self-publishing, I could probably do it. Furthermore, the journey I took while I wrote that story has enabled me to become a better writer. So even if I need to place Harvey on the shelf, I certainly better keep him accessible and dust-free so that when the time comes, and another idea pops into my head, I can use what I know and write the firecracker novel that simmers beneath the surface of my mind.
Cutting teeth is really hard. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Comments