Editing, Egos, & Eclipses

The totality of writing

My current WIP is set to be a full-length novel that is intended to be the first book of a trilogy - I have the titles and much of the overall story outline mapped out, but I feel apprehensive about revealing very many details about it. When does teasing information about a forthcoming release cease being a pragmatic part of marketing? At what point is it just being too precious about my oh-so-original idea?

There are legitimate concerns regarding withholding info about a book still in development - sadly, concepts, names, and designs can be stolen and it’s a difficult battle no matter how much of a claim you have. That said, do I really think literary thieves are out in the wild scheming on ways they can usurp my intellectual property? They’d have to be aware of me in the first place in order to lift any of my ideas. Being so guarded about my stories feels like such a newbie author thing to do, and it’s a tough habit to shake. So, one of the reasons I’m so coy about providing even the slightest tidbit of info about my latest novel is that, yes, I still struggle with the notion that some miscreant will think my idea is so brilliant that they just can’t resist swiping it. The more realistic reason is that it is still very early in the developmental process and things change. Chronicling the creative process can be fascinating, but at the end of the day, I want to avoid confusion about a piece of work that could undergo title changes as well as general story switcheroos.

As an admittedly vague example, as of this writing, I have introduced a major change in the narration - a different storytelling device than what I had originally conceived. This is something I decided that I will at least try - I have to see what it looks like, so-to-speak. It involves a bit of a time jump; a sort of past and present prism all told via first person POV. This idea could end up in the scrap heap, but it is too intriguing for me not to explore. One of my personal rules of writing is to find the most interesting way to tell the story, and if this particular idea that originated out of left field improves the book, then it is all for the better. After all, the only “real” rule of writing is to produce a story that someone enjoys. It’d be nice if it made money, too, but one thing at a time.

All this interior drama is unfolding within my mind palace, but to the outside world, no one knows much of anything and that is because of the aforementioned rookie preciousness. Ego also plays a factor, too. Strange as it sounds, I almost don’t want to rearrange my story’s structure despite its excitement because it deviates so much from what I said I’d do - what I said to myself, that is. The truth may lie in that my opening sequence has expanded into three chapters. The editor part of my brain demands I kill my darlings and only retain the key points and move the story along. Stupid logic.

The chapter consolidation may still happen, but I had one of those pesky ideas that seem too enticing to ignore. But much like the eclipse, I can’t help but think perhaps I should simply let logic takes its natural course and block out the bright sun of endless ideas. After all, the totality of my time that I can spend creating all of this is very limited and I don’t want to wait another twenty years for another completed book to resurface.

Alas, things are still looking sunny and the future is radiant with new possibilities. Maybe one day I will feel confident enough to simply post my new story’s details and watch with satisfaction as it gets ignored in the never-ending stream of social media.

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