Moving Forward.
There were a number of good posts from writers in the blogosphere last week, so please forgive me not being able to keep track of who said what bit of brilliance.
Anyhoo, one of my take-aways was this: You gotta love doing the writing, because you may never get published. If you're writing primarily because you want to be published, then you are in all likelihood doomed to disappointment.
(I've given that advice before, but it hits a lot harder when someone else says it.)
Here's the thing. I've got this world in my head. I know the history and the stories of the zillion characters for many generations in all directions.
I don't want to be THAT GUY, the fantasy writer who obsesses about one created world to the point where it hurts them careerwise because no one else is as obsessed with it. It worked for Tolkien, but hello--outlier.
Problem is, I don't know if I can enjoy writing other things. I start and abandon projects. I rarely write short stories, and the finished ones tend to be SHORT, perhaps because I can finish them before I grow bored.
I keep coming back to the same world and writing more in it. (I moved beyond "rewriting the first book again and again" about a decade ago, thank Crom.) So I've decided something. Rather than do the rewriting to create the beta version of the recently-complete first draft (a standalone novel set in that world), I'm going to commit to a novel set in a different world.
Empiricism is important. How can I know if I'll enjoy (or not) writing at novel-length in a different setting if I don't do it?
I'll still keep looking for a new agent with the first novel. But I have to find out if I can commit to something else. I'm giving it one year and a bit (until May 1, 2012).