At least that’s what I’ve always heard. In some cases, saying ‘good-bye’ can be downright liberating!
Such was recently the case for me.
For the last two months, I’ve reported my efforts to bring an old manuscript up to snuff. Again.
I also reported the discovery of a possible theme and speculated on the possibilities revealed by the discovery.
Something I didn’t mention was that I’d entered that story in a competition. I’d hoped for direction from the results of the competition, and direction is what I received.
My entry didn’t win, but after reading the winning entry, I’m not at all surprised. The winner was G-O-O-D! Better than good, actually. I was left thinking I had no business even entering, but that’s another blog post.
The crits I received were helpful. Most of them I’d heard before from crit partners, so they were no surprise.
I also received encouragement from the judge(s) and for that, I praise God and thank the judges. Encouragement is always worth its weight in gold.
But I also found the resolve to set the old story aside. The net result is that, for all practical purposes, Perfect Opportunities is now dead and buried.
What I do next will be determined in large part by the process of working my way through the latest reading of Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. The exercises at the end of each chapter are ideal not only for exploring the material presented in each chapter, but for exploring budding story ideas, as well.
Ideas are popping up like toad stools after a rainstorm and that’s hopeful, but I’m also finding the homework process helpful in determining where my writing passion lies (an important and oft ignored part of the writing discipline) and what ideas are inherently strongest.
I don’t know about you, that I find that as encouraging as a good crit!
