Oh, look! Shiny. :)

This always happens to me. I'm supposed to be working on one thing, but the pristine condition of an untouched, untapped idea is calling to me.

I. Must. Resist.

The hardest part about writing is staying focused. And when you're faced with something you don't know how to get around--how to get started, how to write a particular scene, how to handle a character's issues--other stories start singing the siren's song.

It's not that I don't love the current story, the one I'm supposed to be working on. It's just...the other one is still in this vague, perfect-because-it-hasn't-been-proven-not-to-be-yet stage. When you're up close with an idea, dealing with its flaws, and you're elbows deep in the structure, all the other ideas waiting in the wings seem...easier. Better.

But alas, it is an illusion. For all stories need work, love and care. Some come easier than others, true. Some make you bleed for every word. But whether it's easy or difficult in the writing of it doesn't seem to affect the quality of the story in the end. What will affect the quality is whether I'm willing to put the requisite work in.

I am. After I'm done whining. *sigh*

: ) Stacey