Writing Is A Lot Like Being A Home Owner

It may not be new, but it’s new to you. It may not be shiny, but you see potential. You’ve made the investmentand now the fun begins. You reinforce and stabilize, until you have a sound structure. Plumbing, wiring and other essentials are repaired or replaced. The outside gets a new coat of paint, the lawn shaped, seeds sown and bulbs planted. The inside is scrubbed and decorated. Everything about it screams, ‘You own this!’

Can you see the resemblance between owning a home and writing?

You have an idea, it may not be new, but you have the potential to make it feel new. Slapping on a new coat of paint isn’t enough. You need to reinforce the idea by giving it structure. Reroute the essentials until they fit your vision. Shape the landscape to fit your rules. If so-and-so had molehills, you make mountains, but make sure they can withstand a rainstorm.

Take that idea and twist it, until it screams, ‘You own this.’