There once was a girl who loved the tale of Snow White. The Disney movie was the first she had ever seen in a theatre, and growing up her greatest vanity woe was not having black hair. All of her dolls were named Snow White, watched the movie on repeat, and read every version available.
The same girl also loved to write stories and was always making up large fantastic dramas with her toys. As she grew into her teen years, she may not have played with toys anymore, but was still creating stories in her head. But, she never had "the one." The one story she would turn into a great novel. She'd always heard the phrase "write what you know." But she thought that what she knew was quite boring.
Until one day, someone suggested, "You know Snow White really well, why not write about that?"
Why not?
The girl's mind and heart soared as she thought through ideas, created characters, and built a world around her favorite tale. There was adventure! Humor! Romance! Intrigue! It was going to be perfect!
Years went by, and the novel grew and grew and went through several drafts. None of which had an ending. Until she graduated college and someone informed her of a magical thing called "National Novel Writing Month." Yes! This was exactly what she needed to finally complete this epic tale!
November came and she wrote at the computer for 30 days, and continued to do so for the next several years. Sometimes it was this epic Snow White story, sometimes it was a spin-off inspired by other fairy tales, sometimes it was something brand new. Each one teaching her something about her story weaving skills.
Then, another idea hit her. It wasn't Snow White. It wasn't based off of any fairy tale. This was brand new. Modern. Urban fantasy. With demons, vampires, witches, and angels. When she looked back at this first book with all of it's rewrites, she realized it was time to put it away.
In fact... it wasn't very good. It was a wonderful learning experience and vital to her skills as a writer. But the fact remained: it wasn't good.
While part of her was sad about it, she knew it was for the best, and moved onto her new idea.
Fast forward another few years. Past five drafts of this urban fantasy novel she so dearly loved. Her second love if you will. The world of rewrites, edits, and queries left her feeling sad. She loved this book so much, why didn't anyone else? Perhaps, it was time to set this one aside. Not for forever. Just for now.
Then, one day, an idea hit her. There were two fairy tales featuring a girl named Snow White. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Snow White and Rose Red. Many people got them confused and thought they were the same character. Being the fairy tale expert she was, our clever (not quite as young as before) writer knew they were in fact two different people.
But what if they weren't?
Once again, the wheels started to turn. Perhaps there was hope for that very first Snow White novel idea after all! With some changes, rearranges, and starting over again with a brand new take on the story... this could be something truly special!
So, she wrote, and shared with her other writer friends who loved this new tale! It was fabulous!
Until... one of these writer friends sent her an inspiration idea. Another one with Snow White. But what if she was a vampire? It combined two of the things she loved to write most. Urban fantasy, and fairy tales. Could nothing be better?
Yet again, her ideas started to bubble over. This was so new and different than anything she'd ever done! This Snow White was nothing like the others, and she could picture this character perfectly. She'd be one of the greatest achievements ever!
Tossing the other idea aside, she dove into the world of the vampire.
Then, an opportunity came across her desk. A writing retreat offering scholarships. She'd never gone on a writing retreat or had any formal writing training before. She would need recommendations and writing samples. She got to work.
After much deliberation with her writing friends, she decided to include the first chapter of that Snow White and Rose Red book. She dusted it off, gave it a polish, and read it over and over again to be sure everything was perfect.
Wow. That story was really great, wasn't it?
She began to fall in love all over again.
This time, it was with two different novels. Inspiration from the same classic fairy tale. But two completely different characters, stories, and worlds. One could not be more different than the other.
It was worse than being on The Bachelor.
Which will she choose?
Find out next week, on the MOST DRAMATIC BLOG POST EVER.
Okay... let's be real. My blogs aren't that dramatic, and I'm the worst at choices. Therefore, don't be expecting to come back next week with my being ready to tell you which Snow White book I decided to work on. But when all of this made me think of The Bachelor I couldn't resist.
But, this is something I see writers struggling with often. They start one project, then get distracted by another. Then, they have to pick which one they want to focus on. It's so easy to get distracted by the shiny new projects.
So, now I need to pick between two vastly different but both awesome ideas based on my original love - Snow White.
A classic fantasy focused on two sisters, with characters I've known and loved for years, and with some of my all-time favorite world-building?
Or
A darker fantasy featuring a vampire and grittier characters that kinda scare me but are also awesome?
I hate choices.
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