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A playwright friend of mine recently had a new idea for a play. He started making notes. Not too much work, but more than a few jottings about storyline and characters.
The he opened his New York Times one day only to see a review of a new play that was in the same genre as his new idea. It got good reviews. It will probably be a hit. The plot was pretty unique.
He abandoned his idea that morning.
I don't blame him.
Foruntately for him, he was at the beginning stage of the project rather than the end. If he'd been working on the play for six months or a year and then opened his Times and saw the storyline of the play he would've gone into severe depression.
I know I would've.
If there's a lesson here, it has to do with the practicality of sticking with something or abandoning it.
If all you've put to paper are notes and rough plot lines--bail. If you're halfway through--bail. If you're in Act Three--stick with it and hope for the best. You've gone too far to quit.
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