My last year's Anna Jacobs novel LIKE NO OTHER was based on four chapters which I'd written about 15 years previously. These had seemed to be getting nowhere, so I abandoned the story. When I re-read the embryonic story years later, I thought, "That's not bad. I could do something with that." I worked out a better and more complete story line, wrote a sparkling synopsis and proposed it to my editor. She bought the idea without wanting any changes. But I used the first of those old chapters almost verbatim-and the heroine was exactly the same person I'd visualised.
I had two extra novels accepted for publication last year that were rewrites of earlier manuscripts which had got nowhere on their first outings-well, none of my earlier attempts got anywhere in my first few years of writing, because although they were good story ideas, pleasantly executed, 'good' isn't enough to achieve publication in today's highly competitive markets. What was lacking was professional polish, pace and excitement.
When my agent asked last year if I had any spare manuscripts, I took these two out and could see immediately what was wrong, so revamped them and sent them to him. SEASONS OF LOVE was published in December 2000 under my Anna Jacobs name (comes out in March 2001 in the USA) and A FORBIDDEN EMBRACE will come out in mid-year.
I'm not saying this to boast but because I've heard several writers say they've tossed out their early attempts to write. Well, I'm telling you loudly and clearly-don't do it! Treasure every scrap of paper, every file, every half-written story. As your skills mature you may find some of them spark of new pieces.
2. BE PREPARED TO CAPTURE IDEAS You'll get ideas regularly as your writing skills develop. Treasure them, too. They're your stock in trade. In fact, encourage your brain to give you ideas and be prepared wherever you go, whatever you do, to scribble them down.
I have notepads all over the house, in the car and in my handbag. If I get an idea, I scribble it down and later I write it up in my electronic ideas file as well. No idea, however vestigial, is going to get away from me. I might not use or develop the idea further for several years, but it's mine and it has potential and I'm not going to waste it. Some of these ideas are mere one-liners that capture the essence of a possible plot, some are a paragraph long, some a chapter long because I 'saw' a whole scene and wrote it out in rough to capture the essence before it could fade-I've got up in the middle of the night to do this more than once, using the notepad next to my bed or even switching on my computer.
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