Oh, the story lives on in my hard drive and in scattered notes…I feel more like my story itself shed unnecessary layers, revealing its own simplest, truest self. I have the folders filled with bits of wonderment and I even look at them now and again. The more that I write and the more that I become serious about my writing, the more that I discover the flexibility, the agile leaps from one idea to another. For example, when I shared my story premise with agents and editors, nearly every person got stuck on a point that I thought was interesting — but they got so stuck and mired in it that the story came to a halt. I thought hard, changed that point and now discover that the story does a lot better without it — and new possibilities have emerged. I’m learning — and this work is mainly practice, little feints and attempts that mostly fail, but not all. I keep the things that work, let go of the rest. There is always more where it came from. I love your responses — so long, so vivid, so present — hope you’re putting some of that tremendous energy and passion into your own work!
