I am abandoning my novel. FOR NOW. Not forever.
I have an opportunity to submit a short story for publication at the end of the year (tiny advance, tiny royalties). I've decided I'd like to take my Ice stories, pull them together, and make them into one big short story (hm, oxymoron, yes?). So, to do that, I'm abandoning my goals for my novel this month.
It's not failure, it's flexibility.
When I come back to my novel, I've had some super great ideas that I need to weave into it before I continue. The changes will make it a gazillion times better. And yes, it does have a lot to do with knowing my main character better and making her a more likable, compelling person.
I've also been asked to write an article for Life Skills e-zine this month. And I found out that another article of mine has been accepted for a religious publication, The Ensign. I'll link to the articles when they become available.
See, all the good news is making it easier for me to squelch the old me ("must finish goals at all cost..."). And maybe next year, I'll be in a position to participate in NaNoWriMo for real.
"Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe" ~ Neil Gaiman (A Game of You)
11.16.2010
The Ol' Switcheroo
Posted by Shelli at 2:03 PM
Labels: Real Life, Work In Progress
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3 comments:
Wow, wow, wow!! So many great writing opportunities, Shelli. That's fantastic! And don't feel bad about setting one project aside to work on another. I do that all the time, depending on what's most urgent. This short story opportunity sounds fabulous. Let us know what happens!
Sue
echo, echo, echo what Sue said. What an onslaught of great opportunities!
(I switch project priorities all the time, every month)
Keep us posted. :)
Sue and Cathryn -- Thanks for your encouragement. Of course, right after I made the decision, I got sick and got NO writing done at all! That would have put a dent in my writing goals, regardless. It's good that writing lets you be flexible.
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