So you’ve battled through the winter of your writing and you can finally breath a sigh of relief. Your story lays stretched out before you, complete. You have entered the final keys strokes, and your garden is green and lush and springing to life, the buds of your story beginning to bloom. Your plot is growing roots, and your characters are shining in the sunlight.
But wait, you notice flaws in your story, your precious garden. That’s okay, you tell yourself, it just needs a little editing. So you roll up your sleeves, dig out your tools and start the process with the best intentions.
There’s an old proverb, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
You find invasive weeds in your garden in the form of plot holes and bad grammar. You set to work immediately routing them out with a spade.
Oh no! They’re everywhere! Even more weeds in the form of passive voice construction and dead-end characters. What the heck? I thought I was a good writer!
An outhouse? Of course, there’s an outhouse. This is total c$@&!
Why did I put a big shiny piece of metal in my garden? There was a point to this right? How did this fit into the story again?
Who the heck do I think I am? Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m a writer.
After a while, I think you can get so absorbed in the tiny flaws that you lose focus of the big picture. You have created something with a vision, a purpose in mind.
Take a deep breath, step back and put down the rake.
Have a drink with a friend
Call in a professional if you can.
Don’t lose perspective!
But most of all, remember, you’ve created a place that people are going to want to hang out and enjoy. Don’t be so hard on it that you destroy it before it has a chance to really flourish.