Not Ripe Yet

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Not Ripe Yet

September 29, 2013 by meredithmansfield

Story ideas need time to ferment and grow. That’s just one reason why it’s not recommended to follow the newest shiniest idea right away. It needs time to germinate and build–usually in the subconscious.

The idea for my Weird Oz Story started a year ago, but I’m starting to question whether it’s really quite ripe yet.

On the other hand, Adventures in YA Publishing this week reminded me of something else:

“E.L. Doctorow said once said that ‘Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’ You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice on writing, or life, I have ever heard.”

~ Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

That’s just about as far ahead as I can see right now–if I drive really slowly. Usually, that’s enough for me.

So, I’m not ready to give up and put this away for a while yet. However, I am likely to start splitting my writing time. Maybe start working on some revisions. That might be just a bit tricky, because I’ll be switching between third-person narrative and first-person, but I think I’m up to the challenge. And if I’m not, maybe I need the practice.

Hmm. I haven’t read BIRD BY BIRD yet, but it’s been on my list for a while. Maybe I need to move it up.

In other news: Another new chapter of BLOOD IS THICKER is up on wattpad.

Or, of course, you could just buy it for $2.99 and read it all without waiting a week between chapters.