On resonance and editing

Sometimes, writers get ideas for stories that happen to be very powerful. I've finished up with that pseudo-commission thing I was doing earlier, and now I'm sidling back and forth between what I should be doing (that is, not writing), writing/editing parts of "Six," and doing work on an original piece (not "Something") that I've worked on on and off for the past few months.

That original piece, I think, has a very strong story to it. It's something that I find myself thinking on often, and I keep replaying different ways to resolve the conflicts over and over in my head. It's a story that has become dear to me, and the lessons I've learned so far from writing it will stick with me forever, both in life and in pen. I'm hoping the same will be true for readers, when I eventually do post it somewhere.

That kind of story strength is often difficult to find. It comes not necessarily from the writing itself, but from the character arc the protagonist follows. It's something called "resonance;" a strong thematic strength that makes a story endearing to its readers, and often somewhat difficult to forget. "Resonance" is what gives books like The Catcher in the Rye, Cloud Atlas, and Greg Howell's Light on Shattered Water their power.

I've started editing on certain parts of that story, and I'm at the stage where I start to think, "Oh noes, this are bads," and, "Who'll ever want to read this?" That's a funny thing that tends to happen a lot once you get to the editing stage. But especially in times like these, when you know you have a good story, you just have to sit back and believe in the power of the story. It'll come out eventually, but only if you let it.

Similarly, I've spent hours and hours behind a screen composing and trying to get the synthesized results to sound musical. At first, a composition always sounds fake and bad, but if you play with it enough--and it really is just playing with it, because you have to learn something new as you go each time--it'll eventually become music. That's the exact same kind of thing that happens with writing.

tl;dr: good stories are good. Do not lose faith in good stories; sieze upon the opportunity when you are blessed with one.