False Starts

So about that novel I keep talking about writing... Well. I'm not writing it. Not that particular one, anyway. I've come to the conclusion that it was a "false start" in the words of Louise Doughty, author of A Novel in a Year. It's this author who finally gave me the peace of mind, earlier this week, about abandoning this sinking ship of an idea for my first novel. She writes:

Very few people write a good novel on their first attempt. I certainly didn't. My first published novel was actually the third one I finished, and that's not counting the numerous false starts, often thousands of words long, novels that came to nothing after months of work. If you, too, have had those false starts, it's important not to get disheartened by them, and to remember that they are a necessary part of the process.

So, yeah. A false start. I've been plotting and researching for this story, but it just doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The thing is, the idea for this novel was to expand one of my completed short stories. It's a good short story, if I do say so myself. But I've come to the realization that it's meant to stay that way--short.

I'm not deterred, though, because I have other ideas for novels. I'm still determined to engage in the process (reading, free-writing, researching) of beginning a novel. I just need to find the right idea, among the several candidates swimming in my head.

"There ain't no rules around here, we're trying to accomplish something." Thomas Edison