Reviewing

by G.Parker

My daughter made a statement that made me think the other day.  She mentioned that you could tell you’d written something really good when you found it (after forgetting you had it) and started reading it – and then couldn’t put it down.  Apparently she’d been up till late in the morning reading one of her stories that she’d forgotten about.

I thought, "sure."  And then I found the one I’m working on right now.  Wow.  How do you forget so much of something that you’ve written?  I mean, I know I’ve written several stories, but I can remember the basic story line of each.  Or so I thought.  Reading this one is so refreshing, and sort of reinforces the idea that I’m a writer.  I like it.  And my readers have liked it too.

I think every writer needs to separate themselves from their work every so often.  You need to get out of the forest, so to speak, so you can enjoy the trees better.

Well, that’s my suggestion for this week.  If you’ve found yourself frustrated with your current project and not knowing what to do with it – put it away for a while.  A couple of weeks or month or two.  Pull it out after you’ve had time to dust the cobwebs out of your brain and take a fresh look at it.

You’ll be glad you did.  Because at that point, you’ll be able to tell if it’s good enough to keep working on, or stinks so bad it’s time to start over.

Have a good weekend. ;)