Surrendering To Your Story

Yesterday I was thinking about the different story ideas I'm juggling, and the novels I currently have in progress, and I came to the conclusion that sometimes the story you want to tell just doesn't want to be told (and then we find ourselves in writer's block). And conversely, that the story you don't necessarily want to focus on is actually screaming to be written (otherwise known as schizophrenic writer syndrome).

And what I've decided is that you've just got to surrender to the story - to the story, that is, that must be told.

I had a really fabulous novel idea a few years ago and I actually have about 20k words written already. I was pumping the words out so fast that I wrote those 20k words in about three weeks. But then it sort of sputtered, and stopped, and I simply couldn't make it go any further. And even though I saw the potential for greatness, I just couldn't create a story. I still can't create a story.

And as much as I want to write that story, it doesn't seem to want to be told. At least not right now. But what does seem to want to be told is a new story idea that I have. One that started with an image of a homeless man at a soup kitchen that sort of jumped into my vision years ago. It's for my next novel, The Man In The Suit.

This story doesn't have the entertainment value of the first story that I was trying to craft. It also doesn't have any mystical elements woven into it or the thrill of a Paris backdrop. But it's prodding at me, constantly, telling me that this story is the one that needs to be written.

So I guess today my advice is to surrender to whatever story it is that moves you, even if it's not the one you wish would do so. If you find yourself with writer's block, maybe put it away for a while. Or a year. Or ten. And see what story really wants to be told right now.

It's possible, I think, to come back to a story you wanted to write and breathe new life into it. Maybe it just wasn't the right time the first time around. I hope that's the case with the novel I wasn't able to finish, anyway. But I guess all I can do is wait and see.