In 2009 I wrote my first ever novel. I finished it in 20011 and started querying. Needless to say with my total lack of experience I got a lot of rejections. In 2014, I took the idea for this novel and turned it completely on it's head. In a way I lamented all the work I'd put into the first draft (and its sequel) but mostly, the new idea was by far the superior version.
It got me thinking about how much I have developed as a storyteller in the few years that I've been writing. Then of course all the insecurities set in and I started to wonder whether I'm using up all of my good ideas now while I'm not that great a writer when I should be saving them up for when I'm matured a little and can do them justice. I'm terrified that by the time I can write a good enough narrative all my ideas will have been used up. Which of course has made me look at the works in progress I have going on and how I can completely overhaul them. Which of course means I'm not producing enough. And the cycle goes on and on.....
Use them now. Better ideas will come along. And you'll be an even better writer to write them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex. And you do write a lot - NanoWriMo, remember? :-) One good idea leads to another.
ReplyDeleteNobody ever runs out of good ideas. That's not possible, so don't worry about that. At the same time, who says you have to abandon an old idea just because you couldn't write it well years ago? If you can figure out a better way nowadays, then go for it. I would only let go of an old idea/story if it felt like the idea wasn't so great, after all. Like how you just realize things years later that weren't apparent to you before.
ReplyDeleteHey, take that motivation and run. The truth is, there are decades ahead of revision of you decide you didn't do a story justice. And someone may just disagree with you along the way and decide to publish you.
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