My New Novel, A New Love Affair
So I've started writing a new book. I can add it to the other six incomplete novels on my hard drive. Some authors are addicted to starting novels. If I don't look out, I might be one of them. But this book is different. (Aren't they all?) But seriously, I have an excellent feeling about it. (That's why I'm blogging about it instead of writing it.)
Starting a new book is like starting a new love affair. The possibilities are endless. You just know this one is the one. It's going to work out. It's going to go the distance. It's going to be the one that you're most proud of. It's going to be ... everything.
Then you start working on the book. Some days, it's wonderful. You're euphoric. You and your book are on a honeymoon. Then the days go by. The weeks. You two are starting to get to know one another. Cracks in the relationship are showing. Maybe the storyline isn't as fascinating as you thought it would be. Maybe your skills aren't as strong at bringing it to life and you hoped they'd be. Each side is a bit disappointed in the other. Your story is feeling let down by you and you're feeling let down by your story. Then you start two start to avoid each other. It starts slowly, of course. You spend less time writing the story, less time thinking about it, more time finding other "crucial" things to do. Your story, of course, isn't happy with this state of affairs. It tries to lure you back. So every now and then you return to it, take a stab at continuing it. Maybe you read what you've written and some of the old enthusiasm returns. This story -- this relationship -- had possibilities. Why not give it another try? So you do. But soon the old sense of frustration, of disappointment, sets in. You tell the story, "It's not you. It's me." But that doesn't help, does it? You're both disappointed. And so, in the end, another story that should've been remains just that, a should've been. And years later, you find the story on your hard drive, read it one more time, and think , "I should've.... If only I could've.... It would've...."
Hmm.... Where did all that come from? Was it the story of my relationships? The story of my stories?
Oh, god, I'd better get off this blog and get back to work. I don't want to ruin my new love affair with such negative forecasting. I love this one. This one loves me. We can go the distance. I know it. I just know it.
Starting a new book is like starting a new love affair. The possibilities are endless. You just know this one is the one. It's going to work out. It's going to go the distance. It's going to be the one that you're most proud of. It's going to be ... everything.
Then you start working on the book. Some days, it's wonderful. You're euphoric. You and your book are on a honeymoon. Then the days go by. The weeks. You two are starting to get to know one another. Cracks in the relationship are showing. Maybe the storyline isn't as fascinating as you thought it would be. Maybe your skills aren't as strong at bringing it to life and you hoped they'd be. Each side is a bit disappointed in the other. Your story is feeling let down by you and you're feeling let down by your story. Then you start two start to avoid each other. It starts slowly, of course. You spend less time writing the story, less time thinking about it, more time finding other "crucial" things to do. Your story, of course, isn't happy with this state of affairs. It tries to lure you back. So every now and then you return to it, take a stab at continuing it. Maybe you read what you've written and some of the old enthusiasm returns. This story -- this relationship -- had possibilities. Why not give it another try? So you do. But soon the old sense of frustration, of disappointment, sets in. You tell the story, "It's not you. It's me." But that doesn't help, does it? You're both disappointed. And so, in the end, another story that should've been remains just that, a should've been. And years later, you find the story on your hard drive, read it one more time, and think , "I should've.... If only I could've.... It would've...."
Hmm.... Where did all that come from? Was it the story of my relationships? The story of my stories?
Oh, god, I'd better get off this blog and get back to work. I don't want to ruin my new love affair with such negative forecasting. I love this one. This one loves me. We can go the distance. I know it. I just know it.
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