It Happened
Jun. 22nd, 2005 08:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
danalwynLast weekend, I was suddenly and irreversibly visited by It.
All writers tend to know It, and are probably intimately familiar with It. It is the writer's equivalent of being visited by the FBI, Child Protective Services, and the IRS audit man all in the same day. It is what happens when a blinding flash of revelation penetrates a writer's inner cocoon of ignorance and politely informs us that the project we've been working on for the last couple of months is absolute and complete garbage.
Normally writers are suspicious of It, because it usually comes with the tagline "This idea sucks, but this idea is so much better". Usually both ideas are about the same level. However, this will mark the third time that I've taken my current series down for retooling. One of them was a complete rework though. So maybe Divine Revelation is correct this time.
Well damn. There's six hundred pages of source material down the toilet. I'll take it offline for a long time and see where it gets me.
At the same time, said new idea is actually kind of interesting. Hence I am tentatively opening a new project for Pre-Production Planning. It basically fills in one of the major gaps in the history of one of my major countries, which would actually be helpful for the original project, if I ever get it done. I've already gotten out the original concept maps from years ago and have begun making changes. I've even started tossing together stat. sheets and trying to find all the bits and pieces. Now it's time to start working on some character design.
Inspiration sucks.
And I have to move in a week. That sucks too.
All writers tend to know It, and are probably intimately familiar with It. It is the writer's equivalent of being visited by the FBI, Child Protective Services, and the IRS audit man all in the same day. It is what happens when a blinding flash of revelation penetrates a writer's inner cocoon of ignorance and politely informs us that the project we've been working on for the last couple of months is absolute and complete garbage.
Normally writers are suspicious of It, because it usually comes with the tagline "This idea sucks, but this idea is so much better". Usually both ideas are about the same level. However, this will mark the third time that I've taken my current series down for retooling. One of them was a complete rework though. So maybe Divine Revelation is correct this time.
Well damn. There's six hundred pages of source material down the toilet. I'll take it offline for a long time and see where it gets me.
At the same time, said new idea is actually kind of interesting. Hence I am tentatively opening a new project for Pre-Production Planning. It basically fills in one of the major gaps in the history of one of my major countries, which would actually be helpful for the original project, if I ever get it done. I've already gotten out the original concept maps from years ago and have begun making changes. I've even started tossing together stat. sheets and trying to find all the bits and pieces. Now it's time to start working on some character design.
Inspiration sucks.
And I have to move in a week. That sucks too.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-22 05:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-22 06:07 pm (UTC)In the meantime I've got to come up with price sheets and maps and statistics and random anomalies and backstory and history. Oh yeah, and characters. One can't forget the characters. Sooner or later I'll have to come up with characters.
And I should start packing some stuff up at some point.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-23 12:43 am (UTC)Liquor boxes from stores. And you will discover that you have just enough space in your box of coats from the front hall closet to fit in something random like, say, your only cheese grater.
ON NO ACCOUNT DO THIS. Stuff the space with balled-up paper and seal the box!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-23 06:52 am (UTC)