write a novel... a GOOD novel.

I’ve pretty much decided that, in the long run, novels aren’t my medium. I love them, and I’ve said before that most of my ideas lend themselves to the form, but I don’t really think that this is where my passion as a writer lies. I’m happiest when I’m working on something for the stage or screen, and have been since I was fourteen.

At the same time, the project I’m working on right now is a novel. And, so far, I’m quite happy with it. (That means little – I’m always happy with my first drafts, when they’re going well.) I still want to write a novel that I’m happy with, even if I don’t really want to be a novelist. I’m going to keep trying.

I suppose, if I could look at it objectively, I’d probably say I’ve done this. I’ve written novels before (thank you, NaNoWriMo), and I have a couple of pieces that, even unfinished, are long enough to qualify as novels. And I’m sure that, if I sat down and re-read them, I probably wouldn’t hate them.

But I’ve got some bad habits when it comes to writing; my stories tend to get out of control, and turn into long, tedious epics that never seem to go anywhere. I get bored with them before I finish writing act one. When I do manage to finish a story, I’m just so happy to be done that I just set it aside and move on, rather than polishing it into something I can be proud of.

I’m working on changing those habits, however. I have to: I have a story in mind that could turn into something amazing, if I handle it properly. I just have to figure out how.