Raising the Dead
May 28, 2009Everyone who's ever set out to write novels has that one. Yes, that one that started it all. The First. The once beautiful fruit of your labors that turned into a hideous beast when you weren't looking. (And it always happens when you've set it aside and moved on to the next project...) It's the one that you proudly informed friends, family and even strangers about.
And now, unless you're very lucky or very delusional, it's that one you put into some dark closet or computer folder and tried to forget about.
For me, my little once-loved monster is a poorly written space opera with too many POVs, shoddy writing in general, a few convoluted plots strung together, and a romantic subplot that practically derailed everything else. Among other things! But! I knew there were some gems in there. Some diamonds in the rough. And so I never trashed the thing, instead promising myself (this was written in 2004) that "one day" I would rewrite it. One day I would rip the romance out of the thing, spruce it up and cultivate it into the love story it wanted to be. (Futuristic politics? Shmolitics!)
Yeah, well, needless to say The Gemini Effect has become an inside joke for me and my friends, even though none of them, luckily, have ever read it. Not exactly the future I intended for the poor thing, but I've been much more interested in moving forward with brand new projects than working the gigantic kinks out of old tripe.
Then yesterday I saw this: Call for Submissions: Samhain Publishing Space Opera anthology!
Uh huh.
My little gears started a turning. Slowly... then faster... until my brain proclaimed in a bout of fangirl-esque furor, "OMG SPACE OPERA ROMANCE! I HAVE ONE OF THOSE! sorta!" Followed by "hey, I can totally do this! I have the bones and some chunks of decent meat..."
It'll need a new title of course.
What was that I was saying a week or two ago about getting better at not piling too many projects on my plate at once? Hmm, I wonder.
Tags: process, writing, rewrite, space opera, gay romance.
0 comments