Breakthrough
Posted by ktbryski
There’s a story that I’ve been trying to write for a very, very long time. The first time I tried to tell it, I got about 40,000 words in before I came to the hard, painful realization that it wasn’t working. I looked it over, and gutted huge portions, and rebooted it from the beginning. But by this point, I’d lost quite a bit of time. Work and life kept getting in the way (working two fairly physically demanding jobs saps your energy a bit). If I’d had a better idea of what I was doing, I might have powered through. As it was, the story was still structurally flawed in ways I didn’t know how to fix. It hurt.
And so I let it go.
Fast-forward to Hapax-the-Podcast. This failed story, the story that had preyed on my mind ever since, kept rearing its head throughout the recording and editing process. Eventually, I remarked to one of my cast, “I really need to write this, don’t I?”
“Yes,” she answered. “Yes, I think you do.”
I started fiddling with it again. I started getting excited. I took it to New Zealand, and thought about it some more, and outlined the first five chapters or so in detail.
I still couldn’t write it.
Then, a few days ago, I realized something.
I’ve been trying to start the story in the wrong place.
If I move the opening, two or three major plotting/pacing issues vanish. The tone changes. The characters’ wants and needs shine through far more clearly.
Such a simple change, but it changes everything.
I’m still cautious. I’m still nervous about trying again. But, hopefully the fact that the story won’t let me go says something.
I also found some notes from Hapax’s early days, and let me tell you, I was all over the map with that one. I had forgotten how many wrong paths I considered and discarded. That gives me hope too.
Fingers crossed….
Posted on March 23, 2012, in Writing and tagged Edits, Hapax, musings, Plans, Podcasting, The Next One, Writing, Writing life. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
Leave a comment
Comments 0