Ripening

The only problem with temporarily abandoning a project is that you can never really go home again.

I’ve been trying to get back into a project I stopped working on in late 2009. It’s not something I had gotten very far into at the time – and it’s actually pretty well written. All fairly good points, but what’s interesting is that three books later, I can see how much this mostly unwritten story has changed over the years.

How my writing has changed, compared to what it was.

The overall story idea has stayed the same, but over two years of percolation has definitely expanded my initial concept. Which isn’t a bad thing at all. Maybe it’s a bit like ripening fruit. The story might have been fine as it was, but I’ve had a few years to work on my writing craft, as well as flesh out some plots lines I wasn’t sure about before – it’s grown in scope and characterization for sure.

Still, it’s one thing to wait until something is ready to go…but waiting too long doesn’t bode well either. It *is* possible for a writing to be overworked and overwritten. Overripe fruit metaphor and all that. Still tastes okay, but you know it’s a little “off”.)

I’ve been brainstorming more than anything else the last week or so, trying to merge into something less panster-like, in the off chance I’ll be able to speed up my creative endeavors. (So many ideas and so little time. It’s a bit like trying to catch butterflies with a bubble.)