So Hard to Let Go

I think I might have to let go of the major plot element I had planned to use in my book.  I did the research I mentioned in an earlier post, and learned some facts that would make it difficult to construct the plot I had intended.  I've been struggling to find a way around the problem, but I'm starting to stretch and stretch so much that I'm losing the theme and the feeling of coherence that the story had.

I think I'm going to need to let go of this idea.  I still have my characters and the basic situation, but the particular major conflict is going to need to change.  It's so hard to let go!  I loved my idea.  But I guess this is all part of "the process."  I recall Ayn Rand saying something about how a good writer needs to be a ruthless editor, and that she had cut passages from her novels that she thought were brilliant, but which were not necessary to the story.  I've gotten pretty good at this kind of editing on my blog (you have no idea how many brilliant nuggets you've missed!), but this kind of cutting is new and painful.

The good news is that I had a pretty good laundry list of ideas before I hit upon this one, so I'm going to revisit that, and I'm going to query my subconscious for even more ideas.  That part of the process was energizing and rewarding, so even though I'm taking a step back, I'm sure I'll still enjoy the work.