I’ve always liked that quote. It can be read many ways, but I always got a sense of nihilism from it—you can do all the preparation and planning you want, but you never know when a monkey wrench can get thrown in that renders it all meaningless. I’m not here to get all philosophical, though. I was reminded of this quote the other day in regards to my writing, specifically my just-started work in progress.

It started with a small roadside motel. What I thought was a motel, anyway. We were passing through a small town on the Oregon coast, and I saw (what I thought was) this kind of dumpy-looking motel. The old-school kind, where there’s only eight or nine rooms, and it’s shaped sort of like an “L,” you know the kind I mean? It was next door to the neighborhood market and only a couple blocks from the port. What caught my eye was that one of the rooms had an old loveseat out on what I guess would pass for the porch. It got my imagination going, wondering what kind of people stayed there. It seemed like the kind of place an interesting protagonist might live.

Over the course of a few days I thought about that place, did some research (it had indeed been a motel, but had been converted into apartments) and tried to figure out who I was going to come up with to reside there. Then, out of the blue, a thought struck me: I already had a character that I could put there easily. Then I was off to the races.

Within a week I had a novel about 70% plotted. It’s been two weeks now, and I have just about all the major beats plotted, and most of the characters fleshed out. It turns out that it’s a roundabout sequel to the novel I’m actively querying. It works as a standalone, though. There are a couple things I need to iron out still, but then I’ll be ready to start writing.

But what about the story I just started? The one I was on here celebrating starting not long ago? Well, see the title of the post.

I started losing confidence in that story as I was writing it. The premise is good, but I either need to fill in a lot of gaps or decide if maybe that story is more suited for novella territory. Add to that the lightning strike of inspiration I’ve had about this new one, and the choice was clear—new story time.

I’ve heard it said that waiting for inspiration to write is rather foolish. Writing is a muscle you build and maintain with discipline and consistency—the regular writing helps bring about the inspiration you were waiting for. For the record, I fully believe that to be true, but with one possible caveat: for me, at least, it’s easier to start the regimen with a story that inspires. At least it seems that way now. Maybe this is all just fancy procrastination to avoid actual writing just a bit longer. That certainly tracks.

Either way, I believe I’m about to the point where I jump in and start writing, and see how the characters and the story surprise me as I go. Wish me luck!