Writing Tips!

The Danger of the Story You've Always Wanted to Write

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A lot of writers have that one thing they've always wanted to work on. It's been in their head for years, maybe even decades, changing and growing and becoming the ultimate story that's bound to be great, right? And then they finally start, shaping and toiling, crafting the perfect piece of work. It's all amazing, just like they imagined!

No wait... there's a better idea. This new idea could revolutionize the story, they just have to change a fundamental of what they've already written, but the scenes that need to go are too close to their heart. If they delete something, then the audience will see their perfectly crafted character differently, and the abandoned scenes and plotlines will rot in their head. Each scene was imagined so carefully, so detailed and planned, imagined for so long that any altering ruins everything! What's supposed to replace it doesn't have the same familiarity; it's too new, has no legacy like the rest of the work. It's like you can see the stitches on the page and the replacement isn't as vivid as the other scenes that have been imagined hundreds of times before.

Take a step back.

That story might be a little too close to your heart to easily get it down because it's become part of you and any changes feel like giving up a child. In your head, everything looks great, but on paper, you have to face the fact that things could always be better. Writing will never be 'perfect', but it hurts when that favorite story turns into something nearly unrecognizable and your favorite parts get left out in favor of general improvement. It's possible to get too attached to ideas and stories that stew for years are more likely to have issues like "I don't want to change that, it's always been that way" or "I'm so attached this character but the story has changed so much that they're now useless and have to be disposed of". Even the best writers can feel this beyond their shield of experience.

When you put a lot of time and thought into something, it's hard not to take obstacles personally, whether that obstacle is a negative critique or a better idea that overhauls your favorite scene. I'm not saying you should NEVER write that story, but the struggle is likely to be much more severe than a normal piece of work. It's not hard for the Story You've Always Wanted to Write to turn into the never-ending nightmare of "it's not good enough, but I can't sacrifice _____ to make it better". So for all you writers crafting the "perfect" story, remember that there's no such thing and that a sign of a good storyteller is knowing when revisions are needed, even if they come with sacrifices.

(And hey, you can always write fanfiction of your own work!)