The One

I’ve had the opportunity to meet and talk with some interesting people over at About.me.  I think it’s a wonderful place to connect with so many talented and creative minds; humanitarians and musicians, artists and authors, journalists and fashion designers, photographers and travelers, the list goes on and on.  I was recently asked a ‘deep-thinking’ kind of question by one of those individuals that got me wondering about “The One.”

No, not ‘the one’ true love.  Not ‘the one’ that got away or even ‘the one’ time of regret….

The One project we all have that seems to mean more to us than any other.  As a writer, I’m proud and protective of all of my works, I love each and every one of my characters; hero or villain.  But, I do have one story that goes deep.  I started writing it when I was only 18 years old and since then it has changed drastically, it has evolved, grown like a child to incorporate immeasurable veins, characters, back stories, sub-stories, agendas, plot twists… I can’t even describe how full this story is now and that it spans generations gives you somewhat of an idea.  Completed, it would be about six or seven full-length novels.

The thing is that I don’t feel confident in my ability to write it.  Yes, I just said that.  I know that it’s my baby, that it was spawned from the mysterious inner workings of my own questionable psyche, but the story itself (in my 100% biased opinion) is Epic Fantasy worthy.  Unfortunately, I’m hardly the Grand Master of that genre.  I write plotted porn for crying aloud – Oh, sorry, it’s called Erotica… and while I don’t have any insecurities regarding my ability to weave an epic tale, I know I’m a far cry from Tolkien, Zimmer-Bradley, Lackey or Brooks.

The question posed to me was “What would you chance, if you knew you would not fall?”

I would chance finishing that series and submitting it to a publisher, because I believe in the story.  I believe in the characters having a chance to be heard and loved and hated by people other than myself.  But I can fall.  I can fail and it’s not the publishing part that scares me.  I’m afraid of it getting published without being at its fullest potential.  I’m afraid of failing the story and those beloved characters with my inability to put to paper the words necessary to do them the proper justice.