Tuesday's Inspiration based on a quote by Eric Ambler #aminspired

 Someone asked Eric Ambler how he felt when he finished a book. "Relief that the job is done and hope that the next book would be both easier and better."

Those words resonated with me today since I just finished writing a book and filling out those wonderful forms for the publisher. Do I hope the next one will be better. That gets a YES. Each time  I write a new book I try to apply the things I learned with the last one into the new. What's so wonderful about writing is that with each story you tell, something is learned, a trick is mastered and the prose flows better.

But the easier part isn't happening. Every story written comes with its own problems that one must solve. The new story I'm working on was first written 40 plus years ago. Looking back on the mistakes as a beginning writer I made amazes me. For some reason, I was writing third person from only one character and this left blanks in the story. It also left out emotion. Then I discovered about 5 chapters in I changed the viewpoint character and that made me sit up and say this is odd. Now I'm making the story a 2 person one, and I hope I don't find when I hit another chapter ahead that I threw in a third or a fourth person's viewpoint. So the story won't be easier but it will be better than the one I wrote all those years ago and will be better, I hope, that the one I just sent in.

Growing as a writer is important. Sometimes when I'm reading a writer who has been a favorite for years, and I do like to read all of a writer's past works when I find a new one by them. Sometimes I'm disappointed because the new story seems to be a repeat of one they've already written.

I'll leave you with this thought. Make each book better. Easier isn't the way to go.