The closer I get to the end of my book, the more the critic comes out in me, thinking back on everything that is wrong with the story. I think it’ll be fine once I finish and stuff it in a drawer.

I keep coming back to that thing Joss Whedon said in an interview about how you “find the things that make the story really resonate.”

That is why I’ve always wanted to tell stories. I was talking to an old friend the other day and explained to him back when I was actively writing music it was about storytelling then too. When I got into the game industry making levels, I enjoyed level design because of the sense of authorship and creating a world. As a sound designer, I tell a story through sonic textures.

It’s about themes and memes–latching onto the strongest ones and really nourishing them with supporting elements.

It’s also why I became interested in marketing a few years back and started reading a truckload of marketing books. Most people find that stuff boring, but I saw that as a field of expertise it’s not that different from being a storyteller. Right on par with Seth Godin’s book All Marketers Are Liars.

There’s something about storytelling that is at the heart of all our creative mediums. It’s about the ideas, the heart of a story.

So as I approach the end of my story, I’m already looking back at which ideas were strongest, or maybe which ones should be. It’s hard not to begin editing right away, but I have to be patient and wait out the process. Then I’ll be able to go back and re-examine the ideas and make the heart of the story stronger.