Looking Beneath the Surface

I have been thinking about the hobo novel.

If I went forward it would be fine. No one would know differently. It reads fine, the story works…but I am not happy.

And that’s the problem. It’s fine. But I don’t want to compromise, if that makes sense.

I am not satisfied with “good enough to get by” for my own writing. For better or worse I hold myself to a higher standard. I may not reach that goal. But I am not happy with writing the ordinary. I’ve written that already. Formulaic stories no longer interest me. They don’t challenge me in any way and they don’t bring anything new to the field of literature.

I want to write stories that unfold beneath the surface. That’s what I am missing here. I have the top part down pat. I don’t yet know what’s going on beneath the surface. And that’s what I want to understand and write about.

So. What to do. Well, obviously I have to rethink this novel. Like I said, it’s fine the way it is. I don’t think any publisher would say they don’t like it or have any problems for what it currently is, and for what it says. But I don’t like it. So I have to fix it. I have to figure this out. Just takes time.

I always have before.

Meanwhile, I will move on to a different writing project while this one simmers.