The Forest And Those Damn Trees

Sometimes ya gotta take a step back, let time pass, and re-evaluate.

That’s what I did with Leftovers, my current WIP (Work-In-Process). Until last night, I hadn’t written a single new word since early December. Yikes.

You see, as an aspiring writer, sometimes a little information (well, a whole lot of information—namely, some new craft books and “systems” I studied) isn’t such a good thing. The more you learn, the more the doubts filter in. You start second-guessing yourself--asking questions like, “How do I skip past the mistakes I made in the last manuscript?” “How do I do it right this time so I don’t have to spend all those hours in revision hell?” In short, how do I write the perfect manuscript on the first pass?

Well, duh. You don’t. Or, at least, I don’t.

So, last night, for the first time in a long time, I re-read all 100 existing pages of Leftovers.

Guess what? I LOVED IT. I REALLY LOVED IT. (Sally Fields has nothing on me.) No, really. It’s the best thing I’ve ever written.

And, all those pesky little doubts I had about the plot and the annoying secondary characters? They’re groundless. Well, almost groundless anyway. Certainly the damn thing requires a lot less tweaking than I kept torturing myself with in December.

Now, I can’t wait to get back to writing. And finishing. And polishing.

And, of course, querying. Can’t wait to get this one ready-for-primetime.