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Dear Reader,
Thanks for taking the time to write. I appreciate hearing from you.
A Question from my Email Bag:
"Hi Suzanne, did you ever have an idea that seemed great in your head, but flat when you put it on paper? How do you get around it? As wonderful as your columns are it is hard to believe you have this problem, but maybe you did when you started?"--Jenn Doyle
(Suzanne replies:)
Dear Jenn,
Thanks for your email and your vote of confidence, but absolutely "yes" I experience the falling flat problem you've described. The more experience I've gained as a writer, the more frequently it happens to me, because I take more chances with ideas. But it's really just part of the writing process.
A great idea might be humming around in my brain for days, but when I sit down to start writing--hey what happened? Suddenly the idea that felt like pure creative genius, I can't even come up with the first line.
This very thing happened to me a few weeks ago when I was in New York City having lunch with my agent. I was trying to tell him about an idea for my second book (my first won't be out until June 2010) but in the middle of explaining the concept I realized not only wasn't he "getting" it, I didn't even know what the heck I was talking about anymore.
So what's a girl to do? If I really love an idea and I'm not willing to give up on it, I let it percolate for a while. Sometimes the timing isn't right. I need to spend more time with the idea, so every chance I get I continue talking about it (no matter how disjointed I sound), and eventually everything comes together. Well, most of the time.
I imagine every single writer would admit to having the same problem, so if you discover a solution, please send the "fix" to me first--thank you very kindly--then hurry and produce one of those late night infomercials. "Call now and for only $19.95 this secret 'fix' will guarantee your writing ideas will never fall flat again!" I can see it now...hundreds of thousands of sleepless writers (including me), up in the middle of the night trying to get that flat idea to work, will pick up the phone. You'll make millions!
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com
AUTHORBUZZ: New authors, old favorites--all wonderful books you can win: James D. Stein, The Right Decision; Linda Lael Miller, A Creed Country Christmas; Terri DuLong, Spinning Forward; Laura Brodie, The Widow's Season; and Terry Brennan, The Sacred Cipher. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
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