A year-end tradition for me is to clean my office, which led me to a file of notes I'd taken when Avi came to speak in Seattle eons ago. One thing jumped off the page at me:
"Sometimes you don't need to revise the manuscript, you need to revise your life."
I'm not sure exactly what that means but right now -- as I wrestle with a revision -- I'm taking it to mean that a change in myself might be a necessary first step. A change that requires me to open my heart and mind to other possibilities for my main character. A change that forces me to look at the story as a living thing, that still needs water and sunlight, rather than something done growing, and all I need to do is pick off the dead leaves.
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