in writing a story, people say you have to have an outline.
and characters developed.
and a story arc.
or you can be a pantser (make it up as you go).
others say write scenes and craft your story around them.
when editing, pretend you knew the story you were writing to start with.
it was all of those things for me. i wrote a story based off a thought. then i edited it until i considered it was worthy of others reading it (it wasn't). so i edited more. changed it into a story i would actually read. then submitted to an editor who told me although i had a great story, the telling needed work. so i worked. and worked. and had more people read it. not quite ready. worked on it some more. became discouraged. left it sit in a pile. and burned edits. edited again. more people read it. edited again.
thought i was ready for self-publishing because, hey - it's hard finding an agent. let it sit. then - BAM.
my story found a home.
from the start of the idea to today - five years.
everyone has a story inside them. the story might be weird. funny. terrifying or thoughtful. romantic. sad or uplifting.
but no one will read them if they aren't WRITTEN.
so, write.
