MATURING TASTES AS READER AND WRITER

If my experience is anything like other writers who are trying to get published there are probably four books in storage and the fifth or sixth one works the best.  My frustration doesn't come from whether or not I can get someone else's attention with the product.  It's the fact that it's taken this long to feel this confident to get material out there.  Until I read stories like this.  Then I don't feel so bad.

Sometimes it takes a long time to get a tale correct.  And hopefully, regardless of how long it takes, that tale will be the best it can.

James Cameron can take all the time he wants with his own work.  You write a book to fill a publisher's slot and make a movie to fill a release date.  It's been said that Cameron's treatment for Avatar was written in 1994 but he couldn't do it until he felt the tech would be ready.  I'm hoping he'll hold onto the Battle Angel adaptation rights long enough to complete the project.  There is an awesome character at the center of that saga and a lot of the themes in it Cameron has handled in other stories.  He and his team would do it justice.

Lately I've been re-experiencing a fantasy series called "Wheel of Time."  I gave up on it in high school but I find myself enjoying it a lot more now that I'm older.  I appreciate the characters more and though the style is a little unwieldy the sense of scope overwhelms everything and makes it quite compelling for me.  The original author died and a new author was commissioned to finish the volume.  He has an interesting post here about how all that came to be.  It's also a great essay about the commitment to a story.  The wait is long but I think the payoff will be worth it.        

For my own work I have a few ideas beyond this setting and these characters.  One of them is a horror story that scares me on a conceptual level because I don't know if I'm mature enough as a person let alone a writer to tackle the tale and do it properly.  I can say this with a little confidence because the current books I'm working on all revolve around a character that's been in my head for the better part of fifteen years. And now do I feel confident enough to give these characters a story worthy of them. 

The take away from this should be that the best story will be ready when it's ready.  We as storytellers have a responsibility to the audience whatever medium we use to convey the tale.  That responsibility is to give our best.  Anything less is a betrayal of a contract whenever you engage with the story.