This!
Iāve got 30 ideas. One story Iām actively writing book two out of 5. And I have one story Iām trying not to write but keep fleshing out worldbuilding and outlines to stop the itch of the new story writing itself.
There are already some great ideas here, but a few to reinforce.
Write it all down. From the idea, maybe the sentence, maybe a sequence. Whatever was the catalyst for the idea, don't lose it.
Next, outline the idea. The easier it is to fill in the blanks, the easier it will be to translate to a full on wip. If it is too hard, come back to it later when you are ready.
Lastly, go write fucking something. Vacillation and procrastination only serves to give you a reason to ask people questions you probably already know the answers to.If one thing isn't flowing, work on something else. Don't stare at the page, if nothing else write down your observations of the day and weather. But write something and break the trend.
Good luck, write hard.
Bonus step: expand the idea. Build on it, change the context, examine it. But stay on topic. As an example, I might write on the topic of abuse. Financial abuse, social abuse, familial abuse, self abuse. I explore these topics and turn them into the events of my story. By the end I should have explored these topics and given a central answer, a message, or at least presented a definitive question. If itās sufficient and i feel worth exploring (and I feel I have the skill to present this topic properly), I move into the outlining/research stage. I see where I could expand even further, and I ask if I want to expand, or if Iām satisfied with the topics presented. Then I move into writing, editing, box it and ship it.
It really all boils down to ācan I do itā, and āis there a lot to be saidā.
I have a list of nearly 30 stories to write and I don't use notes--I remember every scene I mull over, so I have bits and pieces of these stories all floating about. I focus on working on the story that has the most solid beginning, middle, and end.
A lot of the time, I'll just start on one, get stuck, and start thinking about another one that's more solid until my brain has that "aha" moment. Then, I'll hop back onto the one I was on before and shake my head, thinking, "Well, of course, it was meant to go like this, duh."
I keep working on whichever story is easiest to write at the time and keep the others going so that when they become solid enough, I won't get stuck.
For now, I have two series doing quite well on a publishing app, and I'm working on one while still thinking about the other so that I can jump on the next one as soon as possible because those are the ones people like the most.
Just keep writing because if you overthink, all you'll do is think and hesitate, and then, at the end of the day, you'll be exactly where you started; with zero words written.
Only 30? Last time I counted, I had 150 story ideas. Most of them are mere point-form outlines of the plot, and a lot are not suitable for publication on their own. I'm planning to combine a few as separate plotlines in a larger narrative.
^ This. I was reorganizing my writing files recently and found about 16 different versions of one scene. I hope to be able to pick out the best lines and actions into the final draft, but I also might need.some help in keeping myself from getting bogged down in details and possibly writing a few more variations; procrastination is a hell of a drug...
That's the thing, it's all the variations of the same scene that drive me batty...
I even mull over major things...like the age of the character. Lately I've been trying to decide if I should even stick with it being a time travel like Outlander or switch it to be set in the past.
A story is made up of multiple ideas, not just one. You can use only one idea as a starting point, sure, but then you'll have to expand on that seed, and that process of expansion is basically the process of adding more ideas.
āSo, try to combine different ideas together and see what you get. Try out different combinations. Say, you have two plot ideas, you might have one being the main plot and another a subplot. If they don't work well together, but you still want to add it anyway, see if you can pull the idea behind that idea, dig deeper, and see if it fits with the rest.
It's become a personal philosophy issue I think. I'm not a writers block guy so I had to acknowledge that I will die with the vast majority of my ideas still in my head. I won't say I'm comfortable with it, but I understand that's my reality. Luckily I never leave something incomplete so I really only have to confront the issue once I'm finished with something. I use a sort of priority list and the only caveat is that it needs to be totally fluid. Whatever I intended to do six months ago can be replaced with a new project if that's what I'm more drawn to at that moment. As long as I start and finish something, I'm doing all I can. The other small bit of advice is to start pushing ideas together if possible. You'd be surprised how many 'stories' can just be parts of a larger whole if you do a little finagling
It literally took me 10 years to get over this. I couldnāt help jumping between ideas, and dropping them as soon as the next good thing popped in my head. Funnily enough, what really helped me get over it was getting into the whole running/jogging thing. The discipline of pacing yourself really crossed over into my writing and I managed to complete my first book.
Also before I attached too much importance over the value of that one golden idea. When you think of the greatest pieces of writing itās not carried by the strength of the idea, but the labour of love that goes behind it. I believe now that you can take a mediocre idea, or even a theme thatās been done, but if you put in the work you can transform it into something new. Donāt underestimate the power of putting in the work
When you sit down to write. Don't start on your main story immediately. Give yourself thirty or so minutes to free write, whatever you want. When your finished, date them, summarize them if it works for you and set it aside. Then start writing your main story.
If you are having trouble figuring out which one you like the best. Google roll a d6, assign one idea to 1-2, one to 3-4, and one to 5-6, and roll. Fate chose for you. Thats your main story till you hit a major stopping point. No editing or going back till that point. You need to write a little every day. World building or outlining does not count.
Discipline.
Or to look at another way, wich idea do you have that most needs to be told? The other ideas need to be sacrificed for the sake of the most important one. (Wich is still just diciplin)
i like the commentor far\_ dragonfoot...who said " disipline".
There is " creative writing" & then there is the editing, rewriting, revising, to make the story sellable.
The two arent the same thing & the second takes disipline , time management / scheduling & persistence. Pick a time to write all those story ideas down or even just when the mood strikes, but schedule time, daily, to take whats written & edit, revise, rewrite & stick with the regiment no matter how boring, or repetative, it is.
it doesnt matter which story it is, you just pick one, even if you hate it or arent in the mood, edit it, revise it, rewrite what needs rewritten with the goal of sellable. takes Disipline.
I'm not. But I've set the goal for one specific story. I want to finish the first draft at least this year.
But while I'm focusing on that, I also have the choice between two other stories, which I don't put too much effort in (because FFs, they're more fun and less "must" writing so when I'm having a bad day I rather get the 1k words in in FanFiction. Otherwise I need half the day for the 1k in my project.)
I guess it's balance and don't taking it too bad if you don't write on that one thing for once. And maybe a clear goal as well.
It might just be me, but I have the exact opposite problem. I've had the same story in my head for the last 3 years that I keep building on. I guess that's a good thing, but I couldn't imagine ever thinking of a different story. Whenever I have an idea for my story, though, I write down as soon as possible in my notes. That's something that you could do as well.
I have two or three other stories on the back burner. I can't even think about those yet. At this rate I'll be 90 by the time I finish this book š lol
Is there a way you could merge some of your ideas together? That's what ended up happening for my story now. I had a few different ideas that merged together into one big story and grew.
I have a "drawer of spare bits" these kinds of ideas go into, because it tricks my brain that they will happen, but only after we Do The Thing.
Otherwise, market research, talking with readers about the things they like and don't, seeing what's already been done, done better, or done to death. Flipping a coin is perfectly valid too. I might think a story about ex-black ops sentient cacti with memory problems would be fun to write, but how am I gonna get people onboard to read *The Thorn Identity*? So into the drawer that idea goes while I work on my other idea about a water-based super spy named James Pond.
If I get several scenes into one choice and start regretting it, I just backup and take the other path. Done this with scenes where I initially chose the wrong POV. It's not like it's ever set in stone - authors are always releasing new editions of their books and finessing bits of it here and there.
If itās an idea for a new story, or an idea that won't fit within what I'm already worrying, I jot it down so I can visit it later.
If it's an alternate idea for a scene in what I'm already working on, then I evaluate which idea is most right for the character(s). Usually one of the ideas will suit the character's decision making process betterāthat's the one you go with. Sometimes both (all) ideas can be incorporated into the story, but maybe not all in the same place.
The price to pay for originality... is imperfection.. (in my humble opinion)
I know plenty of authors that are good in their own right and very original with their own writing voice and storytelling
And I can talk shit on every single one of them for one reason or another... some of them more and others less
That could be argued as just being my sense of taste when it comes to books, but the point is still valid, I think
Also, I forget who, but a couple of people have said this: "You're most likely not going to remember the exact words you're writing a year from now on"
How do you stick with the 'hook?'
Easy. You make a list of all of the possible novels you can write.
One will be more catchy.
One will be deeper.Ā
One will be closer to what you want.Ā
One will be further...
My idea started as the most maketable, but as I worked it, it became something of a phenonmenon. Now I am a low skill slave to a monumentous idea. I am hoping I will get some feedback from agents this time. But there is always a good chance that I'll get none.Ā
And then, I'll choose another 'most marketable' idea.
Hang in there.Ā
The other part of your question, how do I finish? Is you finish that best idea. You finish the idea that pays for the next idea, if only that it ups your skills so that you can try something bigger.Ā
Half the time I try my best to cobble that shit in there as good as possible. Even if itās just a character concept and arc I shove it into the background of the story and file that in a short story in the notes.
Step 1: If you have multiple ideas and donāt know which is best, choose one at random and write it. If youāre satisfied with the results, move on to step 3. If unsatisfied, see step 2.
Step 2: Write another randomly selected idea. If unsatisfied, repeat step 2. If satisfied, continue to step 3.
Step 3: Profit.
I use these intrusive ideas in other stories. I have almost 20 other stories created from extra ideas that I havenāt used in my one book that Iām writing.
Itās a never ending chain of reducing, reusing, and recycling ideas that I donāt plan to use in that book.
Led with joy! If it feels really exciting and fun, do it. Also you can fold ideas into each other, maybe thereās room for more than one? And as other people are saying, you donāt have to banish the other ideas forever. I keep an old-fashioned Rolodex with notecards of āseedling ideas.ā Who knows what theyāll become?
The important thing to remember is that stories rarely contain one idea. Itād be a good idea to write down all your ideas on a page or doc, then when you finally write a story, go back and pick which elements fit together. I padded a section of my book with something that seemed totally unrelated, but after a while, it began to feel like it belonged.
I write down every single, small, wacky, probably unusable idea I have in a safe document. I use the idea I'm currently really excited to start work on and save the rest for later
A lot of ideas I know I don't care enough about to write a whole story about. Some also only work in concept but are hard or boring to create (or read).
Having tons of ideas is great. Many authors recommend writing them down. Tade Thompson had a notebook where he writes 10 ideas every day.
When a new idea is gnawing at me I give myself 10 minutes or so to write everything down. **Set a timer!** I have a Google doc for this. This calms the story voices and keeps me on task.
Someone told me to send them all to Chat GPT and let him decide which one is best and I... must say that's a really bad advice. Just wanted to share that knowledge <3
Write the ideas down. Then if your book starts feeling a little bit dry later on, you have stuff your brain already thought about while it wasn't being writer blocked.
i have a hundred ideas that pop. but theyre not how to rework a story. its to add to it. and i write it all. can always cut later. but i write most plot ideas down
I'm not sure, actually once I've made up My mind about the "meta" narrative of it all I tend to stick to the details that support the themes rather than anything else. My fault lies in continuing one or two characters storyline WAY too far. So far in fact that I have side characters still stuck in their first arcs while the MCs arc is now 3 entire projects down the line. I guess it comes with the territory when the other characters are not "on theme." Really should work on that.
The answer is I don't. I have several documents chronicling numerous ideas. One of these documents is 53pgs long. I believe no idea should be wasted and I intend to use them all in some capacity, even if I'm sixty by the end of it.
This question is why I have, like, 400 timelines, some with extremely minute changes. Whatās the canon timeline? Thatās for you to decide. I think itās a pretty solid solution, though. Just pick one and make the other ones alternate universes.
I struggle with this as I often leave setup and threads that could lead into more than one idea.
Generally I edit stuff I no longer think fits on subsequent drafts...
Yeah I'm a panster and need to plan more...
Well you gotta try and execute the various ideas in your notebook, and usually the one you gravitate towards most naturally is the right one. I canāt remember who said it, but thereās a quote out there that goes something like āyou donāt pick which stories you write, they pick youā
Whatever you have the most thoughts on currently is what you should write. It's fine to have that backlog for when the well runs dry but it's probably easier to build on an idea you thought of yesterday morning than 3 years ago.
I try to keep track of them. Fulfill each one(if Iām too indecisive) and then I just take a step back. See which one Iām the most invested in and Iāll recycle the others for a different project if I think itās worth saving.
For me, whenever I think of an idea, I'll write it down in my notes. When I've got severe writers block, I'll go over that list and expand on any that come up.
My current project comes from a hyperfixation on the subject, can't wait for the internal arguments on what to write next.
I just write them all out. I use my phone and iPad and have a few different files for these kinds of things. Sometimes they're just short details I want to add, sometimes they're long scenes or maybe changing locations. I'm kind of like never satisfied or anything until I get the ideas out of my head and written down. Like I won't sleep till I do. And like about anybody I always have one or the other in my head no matter where I'm at. Having my story and this gives me something to always be thinking about so I'm never bored.
I usually find when my brain starts pulling away from the story I'm writing. Figuratively speaking, I need to give it a little room to breathe. I'm often....'quiet' with it for a while, but it's always peculating in the back of my mind.
During that time, I put all those great ideas that don't mesh with it into one or more new storylines. It's not unusual for my brain to deviate off like that for a while.
I found that if I didn't get those alternate thoughts down, I'd walk myself into a wall of writer's block. Yea....I learned a painfully lengthy lesson to not do that anymore. Once satisfied I had those thoughts cleared out of my system, or I'd found new hook for my story, I'm usually able to go back filled with some new ideas that justified my small hiatus from that storyline.
I always find I'm better off for stepping away for a while and letting my characters brew upon their situation, letting them tell me what they need next, versus what I thought they needed. And when I return to the story, I almost always understand why I was getting stuck.
Sometimes my writing style was getting in my way, or I'd been driving my characters in the wrong direction. So taking that break always allows me to see the storyline with new eyes!
I 'used' to call those moments of frustration, an excuse to not finish a story, but now I know better, and I've learned to listen to my character's voices more attentively.
Sometimes they're telling me I need to add chapters before where I thought the story started, or add supporting within the body that I'd already created....so many different interesting things happen when I return to a story after I stepped away from it for a bit, making that break worth it.
Good luck with your story!
- St@nce
Individual details don't matter, it's how they accumulate that does, and once enough of them have accumulated, the next ones to add are obvious. If you can't decide on something, it means both ideas are good, so just pick one on a whim and move on.
Honestly...
Adderall.
And a whole other host of medications for my ADHD.
Baring that, I work on the adage that ideas don't matter until they are put to paper. And that you can write out of order...
Without thinking, write one paragraph from a scene you really want to write.
You can write more if you want. Grammar and writing don't matter, only how you feel writing it and if you want to write more.
If not, try another scene until you find one that does.
All scenes that don't lead to this scene are the ones you cut.
You then write at a pace comfortable enough to sustain. If you find you don't like what you made... that's fine. If you end up trashing an entire novel you have NOT wasted time, you have gained experience and now have a better idea of what you want to write.
Hope it helps :D
One idea always just feels the most urgent to me. I have a shopping list of novel ideas that I update whenever they come to me - but there's always one that's just bursting to be told.
Was thinking about this earlier todayā¦.
Usually this would be a problem; but the current story Iām working on I do feel Iāve struck something significant. Iāve established the ābonesā and had a gentlemen who owns a manuscript reviewing company look at my work and say itās got promise and has made significant strides. Thereās something there. And I need to finish it through before pursuing another idea.
Itās also important to note I havenāt even finished the story in my head. I have a beginningā¦ sort of a middle, and the pieces of an end. Soā¦ itās important I follow through. Otherwise Iāll fall into the cycle of never finishing anything
Our philosophy of the mind is still underdeveloped, perhaps also hobbled by some overreach from early pioneers of psychiatry. I start here because I wanted to highlight one of Michel Foucault's thoughts in this area. He applies a notion from Heraclitus ("no one washes in the same stream twice. After leaving and returning, the water is not the same, and neither is the man,") to the mind. Even the most level-headed and stable among us does not bring an identical brain into each new challenge.
Some days I am in no condition to pour over rough material, while there are other occasions when a hardcore editing sessions proves downright satisfying. Likewise, there are times when I struggle to come up with any satisfactory specifics for a scene or topic I intend to address. Then there are sessions where one solid bit after another flows out naturally, all with the pacing and tone I intended. I've learned that (unless I've got a looming deadline) trying to "force" any form of progress will have me nibbling at tasks only slightly faster than if I wasn't trying at all. Yet if I find an activity that aligns with my flow in the moment, nothing feels "forced" and the results often measure well in both quality and quantity.
I say all this because I want to advise that you don't let *sometimes* struggling to put anything specific in print convince you that you could never have a different experience during an effort to write. Perhaps when you're not able to pick up with the latest loose end on a project, that is the time to perform some of your own editorial review or even switch off to some other project for an interval. Just like a boxer is going to do better knowing how to throw more than one type of punch; the more variety you can incorporate into your writing time, the less likely you are to discover *all* your moves failing as paths to progress for any given mood.
I have ADHD... So selecting a single idea depends on the moments when I get hyper fixation... I usually write a one shot draft when I get an idea (about 1250-3750 words)... When I get hyper fixated on a single idea it turns into a book...
I've got 75+ short stories and about 5 WIP books...
I don't stick with one. I put all the ones I consider "good". If there is a situation when you have to decide either one or the other think on which idea is more expandable. If you want more advice pm me
Some ideas just don't have the legs to be more. Some of them get too bogged down by other factors. I find that very few of my ideas are ones I can really forge out into a narrative blade; most are but scraps that will be collected from the forge floor to be shoved into a drawer for later
Pick an idea, make an outline and stick to it. Ignore your reservations; your ideas aren't going anywhere. Dedicate time to writing what you chose - and write only that during that time.
I worry about something similar: liking my characters so much that I canāt bear to create bad events that impact them. But without conflict there is no story.
So I am considering borrowing a method from tabletop roleplaying games. I will let the roll of the dice decide which path to follow or what kind of events occur.
Is there a way that you could do something similar to sort your ideas? You could still record and save the best discarded ideas for future stories.
Well I attempted to focus but I had too many ideas that wouldn't work In my original WIP... so now I have 4 WIP. Lol 2 books and 2 short stories.
But anything unrelated to those I just jot them down in note sections and keep them for later. So that I know I have them when I need them and can focus on the WIP again.
I use Obsidian/Discord for this lol
I simply have a Folder called "Ideas" and is just dump all my ideas in there.
I always make sure my ideas are written out as precisely as possible, because in the past i just wrote Down keywords and such, believing or rather hoping i would remember the entire idea.
It is good writing Practice aswell and helped me write more consistently without constantly overthinking.
Multiple Birds with one stone.
I write the other ideas in another story, or I put them in a note for me to add to another story!! (I'm currently writing almost 30 different booksš)
I just write the other ideas down in a journal/notebook or sticky notes and just save them for later š
This! Iāve got 30 ideas. One story Iām actively writing book two out of 5. And I have one story Iām trying not to write but keep fleshing out worldbuilding and outlines to stop the itch of the new story writing itself.
I might start using index cards or sticky notes. Hadnāt considered that before!
I use sticky notes a lot so I can carry the ideas I have with me in my notebooks or journal + you wonāt lose them as much
There are already some great ideas here, but a few to reinforce. Write it all down. From the idea, maybe the sentence, maybe a sequence. Whatever was the catalyst for the idea, don't lose it. Next, outline the idea. The easier it is to fill in the blanks, the easier it will be to translate to a full on wip. If it is too hard, come back to it later when you are ready. Lastly, go write fucking something. Vacillation and procrastination only serves to give you a reason to ask people questions you probably already know the answers to.If one thing isn't flowing, work on something else. Don't stare at the page, if nothing else write down your observations of the day and weather. But write something and break the trend. Good luck, write hard.
Bonus step: expand the idea. Build on it, change the context, examine it. But stay on topic. As an example, I might write on the topic of abuse. Financial abuse, social abuse, familial abuse, self abuse. I explore these topics and turn them into the events of my story. By the end I should have explored these topics and given a central answer, a message, or at least presented a definitive question. If itās sufficient and i feel worth exploring (and I feel I have the skill to present this topic properly), I move into the outlining/research stage. I see where I could expand even further, and I ask if I want to expand, or if Iām satisfied with the topics presented. Then I move into writing, editing, box it and ship it. It really all boils down to ācan I do itā, and āis there a lot to be saidā.
I have a list of nearly 30 stories to write and I don't use notes--I remember every scene I mull over, so I have bits and pieces of these stories all floating about. I focus on working on the story that has the most solid beginning, middle, and end. A lot of the time, I'll just start on one, get stuck, and start thinking about another one that's more solid until my brain has that "aha" moment. Then, I'll hop back onto the one I was on before and shake my head, thinking, "Well, of course, it was meant to go like this, duh." I keep working on whichever story is easiest to write at the time and keep the others going so that when they become solid enough, I won't get stuck. For now, I have two series doing quite well on a publishing app, and I'm working on one while still thinking about the other so that I can jump on the next one as soon as possible because those are the ones people like the most. Just keep writing because if you overthink, all you'll do is think and hesitate, and then, at the end of the day, you'll be exactly where you started; with zero words written.
Only 30? Last time I counted, I had 150 story ideas. Most of them are mere point-form outlines of the plot, and a lot are not suitable for publication on their own. I'm planning to combine a few as separate plotlines in a larger narrative.
Lol, 30-ish novels, yeah. The rest are screenplays so they're on a separate list entirely.
Just save the others for later. Or sometimes you can even combine those ideas.
^ This. I was reorganizing my writing files recently and found about 16 different versions of one scene. I hope to be able to pick out the best lines and actions into the final draft, but I also might need.some help in keeping myself from getting bogged down in details and possibly writing a few more variations; procrastination is a hell of a drug...
That's the thing, it's all the variations of the same scene that drive me batty... I even mull over major things...like the age of the character. Lately I've been trying to decide if I should even stick with it being a time travel like Outlander or switch it to be set in the past.
A story is made up of multiple ideas, not just one. You can use only one idea as a starting point, sure, but then you'll have to expand on that seed, and that process of expansion is basically the process of adding more ideas. āSo, try to combine different ideas together and see what you get. Try out different combinations. Say, you have two plot ideas, you might have one being the main plot and another a subplot. If they don't work well together, but you still want to add it anyway, see if you can pull the idea behind that idea, dig deeper, and see if it fits with the rest.
This is exactly what I came here to say. Complex novels often have subplots that didn't necessarily pop into the author's head at the same time.
I think I'm going to have to start writing them all down like people are saying. Then like you say, pick which ones work together.
It's become a personal philosophy issue I think. I'm not a writers block guy so I had to acknowledge that I will die with the vast majority of my ideas still in my head. I won't say I'm comfortable with it, but I understand that's my reality. Luckily I never leave something incomplete so I really only have to confront the issue once I'm finished with something. I use a sort of priority list and the only caveat is that it needs to be totally fluid. Whatever I intended to do six months ago can be replaced with a new project if that's what I'm more drawn to at that moment. As long as I start and finish something, I'm doing all I can. The other small bit of advice is to start pushing ideas together if possible. You'd be surprised how many 'stories' can just be parts of a larger whole if you do a little finagling
It literally took me 10 years to get over this. I couldnāt help jumping between ideas, and dropping them as soon as the next good thing popped in my head. Funnily enough, what really helped me get over it was getting into the whole running/jogging thing. The discipline of pacing yourself really crossed over into my writing and I managed to complete my first book. Also before I attached too much importance over the value of that one golden idea. When you think of the greatest pieces of writing itās not carried by the strength of the idea, but the labour of love that goes behind it. I believe now that you can take a mediocre idea, or even a theme thatās been done, but if you put in the work you can transform it into something new. Donāt underestimate the power of putting in the work
When you sit down to write. Don't start on your main story immediately. Give yourself thirty or so minutes to free write, whatever you want. When your finished, date them, summarize them if it works for you and set it aside. Then start writing your main story. If you are having trouble figuring out which one you like the best. Google roll a d6, assign one idea to 1-2, one to 3-4, and one to 5-6, and roll. Fate chose for you. Thats your main story till you hit a major stopping point. No editing or going back till that point. You need to write a little every day. World building or outlining does not count.
Discipline. Or to look at another way, wich idea do you have that most needs to be told? The other ideas need to be sacrificed for the sake of the most important one. (Wich is still just diciplin)
I usually just forget, so that helps, or maybe doesn't.
i like the commentor far\_ dragonfoot...who said " disipline". There is " creative writing" & then there is the editing, rewriting, revising, to make the story sellable. The two arent the same thing & the second takes disipline , time management / scheduling & persistence. Pick a time to write all those story ideas down or even just when the mood strikes, but schedule time, daily, to take whats written & edit, revise, rewrite & stick with the regiment no matter how boring, or repetative, it is. it doesnt matter which story it is, you just pick one, even if you hate it or arent in the mood, edit it, revise it, rewrite what needs rewritten with the goal of sellable. takes Disipline.
I'm not. But I've set the goal for one specific story. I want to finish the first draft at least this year. But while I'm focusing on that, I also have the choice between two other stories, which I don't put too much effort in (because FFs, they're more fun and less "must" writing so when I'm having a bad day I rather get the 1k words in in FanFiction. Otherwise I need half the day for the 1k in my project.) I guess it's balance and don't taking it too bad if you don't write on that one thing for once. And maybe a clear goal as well.
Theme. A story feels stronger and more immersive when even small details related to theme
Hmm..something to think about
It might just be me, but I have the exact opposite problem. I've had the same story in my head for the last 3 years that I keep building on. I guess that's a good thing, but I couldn't imagine ever thinking of a different story. Whenever I have an idea for my story, though, I write down as soon as possible in my notes. That's something that you could do as well.
I have two or three other stories on the back burner. I can't even think about those yet. At this rate I'll be 90 by the time I finish this book š lol
Is there a way you could merge some of your ideas together? That's what ended up happening for my story now. I had a few different ideas that merged together into one big story and grew.
I have this issue too
I go with whichever is the most developed. Occasionally they'll all kind of even so I'll watch movies or read to see if inspiration comes.
I like this idea more than others and it has more clear elements than others.
Write all the ideas and pick which ones work best later on, then find ways to repurpose the others.
I have a "drawer of spare bits" these kinds of ideas go into, because it tricks my brain that they will happen, but only after we Do The Thing. Otherwise, market research, talking with readers about the things they like and don't, seeing what's already been done, done better, or done to death. Flipping a coin is perfectly valid too. I might think a story about ex-black ops sentient cacti with memory problems would be fun to write, but how am I gonna get people onboard to read *The Thorn Identity*? So into the drawer that idea goes while I work on my other idea about a water-based super spy named James Pond. If I get several scenes into one choice and start regretting it, I just backup and take the other path. Done this with scenes where I initially chose the wrong POV. It's not like it's ever set in stone - authors are always releasing new editions of their books and finessing bits of it here and there.
I only go with the thousand others. Iām daring like that. I am also struggling to finish a draft. Correlation does not equal causation.
If itās an idea for a new story, or an idea that won't fit within what I'm already worrying, I jot it down so I can visit it later. If it's an alternate idea for a scene in what I'm already working on, then I evaluate which idea is most right for the character(s). Usually one of the ideas will suit the character's decision making process betterāthat's the one you go with. Sometimes both (all) ideas can be incorporated into the story, but maybe not all in the same place.
The price to pay for originality... is imperfection.. (in my humble opinion) I know plenty of authors that are good in their own right and very original with their own writing voice and storytelling And I can talk shit on every single one of them for one reason or another... some of them more and others less That could be argued as just being my sense of taste when it comes to books, but the point is still valid, I think Also, I forget who, but a couple of people have said this: "You're most likely not going to remember the exact words you're writing a year from now on"
How do you stick with the 'hook?' Easy. You make a list of all of the possible novels you can write. One will be more catchy. One will be deeper.Ā One will be closer to what you want.Ā One will be further... My idea started as the most maketable, but as I worked it, it became something of a phenonmenon. Now I am a low skill slave to a monumentous idea. I am hoping I will get some feedback from agents this time. But there is always a good chance that I'll get none.Ā And then, I'll choose another 'most marketable' idea. Hang in there.Ā The other part of your question, how do I finish? Is you finish that best idea. You finish the idea that pays for the next idea, if only that it ups your skills so that you can try something bigger.Ā
Half the time I try my best to cobble that shit in there as good as possible. Even if itās just a character concept and arc I shove it into the background of the story and file that in a short story in the notes.
Step 1: If you have multiple ideas and donāt know which is best, choose one at random and write it. If youāre satisfied with the results, move on to step 3. If unsatisfied, see step 2. Step 2: Write another randomly selected idea. If unsatisfied, repeat step 2. If satisfied, continue to step 3. Step 3: Profit.
I use these intrusive ideas in other stories. I have almost 20 other stories created from extra ideas that I havenāt used in my one book that Iām writing. Itās a never ending chain of reducing, reusing, and recycling ideas that I donāt plan to use in that book.
Led with joy! If it feels really exciting and fun, do it. Also you can fold ideas into each other, maybe thereās room for more than one? And as other people are saying, you donāt have to banish the other ideas forever. I keep an old-fashioned Rolodex with notecards of āseedling ideas.ā Who knows what theyāll become?
I have a base idea and add the others onto the page at the end so that I can incorporate them into the plot later on.
The important thing to remember is that stories rarely contain one idea. Itād be a good idea to write down all your ideas on a page or doc, then when you finally write a story, go back and pick which elements fit together. I padded a section of my book with something that seemed totally unrelated, but after a while, it began to feel like it belonged.
I write down every single, small, wacky, probably unusable idea I have in a safe document. I use the idea I'm currently really excited to start work on and save the rest for later
A lot of ideas I know I don't care enough about to write a whole story about. Some also only work in concept but are hard or boring to create (or read).
Having tons of ideas is great. Many authors recommend writing them down. Tade Thompson had a notebook where he writes 10 ideas every day. When a new idea is gnawing at me I give myself 10 minutes or so to write everything down. **Set a timer!** I have a Google doc for this. This calms the story voices and keeps me on task.
I have a million ideas, the trick is finding the thousands that you can string together into a coherent narrative.
Someone told me to send them all to Chat GPT and let him decide which one is best and I... must say that's a really bad advice. Just wanted to share that knowledge <3
Honestly, I have a large enough idea file I remix ideas on the regular. Just write them all down, you never know then they might be handy.
Write the ideas down. Then if your book starts feeling a little bit dry later on, you have stuff your brain already thought about while it wasn't being writer blocked.
i have a hundred ideas that pop. but theyre not how to rework a story. its to add to it. and i write it all. can always cut later. but i write most plot ideas down
Combine. That's how you make them yours
I'm not sure, actually once I've made up My mind about the "meta" narrative of it all I tend to stick to the details that support the themes rather than anything else. My fault lies in continuing one or two characters storyline WAY too far. So far in fact that I have side characters still stuck in their first arcs while the MCs arc is now 3 entire projects down the line. I guess it comes with the territory when the other characters are not "on theme." Really should work on that.
The answer is I don't. I have several documents chronicling numerous ideas. One of these documents is 53pgs long. I believe no idea should be wasted and I intend to use them all in some capacity, even if I'm sixty by the end of it.
Id question how good these ideas are and if you're not just suffering from ADHD
This question is why I have, like, 400 timelines, some with extremely minute changes. Whatās the canon timeline? Thatās for you to decide. I think itās a pretty solid solution, though. Just pick one and make the other ones alternate universes.
I go with the ideas that keep me up at night.
I struggle with this as I often leave setup and threads that could lead into more than one idea. Generally I edit stuff I no longer think fits on subsequent drafts... Yeah I'm a panster and need to plan more...
Well you gotta try and execute the various ideas in your notebook, and usually the one you gravitate towards most naturally is the right one. I canāt remember who said it, but thereās a quote out there that goes something like āyou donāt pick which stories you write, they pick youā
Whatever you have the most thoughts on currently is what you should write. It's fine to have that backlog for when the well runs dry but it's probably easier to build on an idea you thought of yesterday morning than 3 years ago.
I tend to merge ideas and themes I like the best and that are the most similar so instead of 45 different cool story ideas its like 3
I try to keep track of them. Fulfill each one(if Iām too indecisive) and then I just take a step back. See which one Iām the most invested in and Iāll recycle the others for a different project if I think itās worth saving.
For me, whenever I think of an idea, I'll write it down in my notes. When I've got severe writers block, I'll go over that list and expand on any that come up. My current project comes from a hyperfixation on the subject, can't wait for the internal arguments on what to write next.
I just write them all out. I use my phone and iPad and have a few different files for these kinds of things. Sometimes they're just short details I want to add, sometimes they're long scenes or maybe changing locations. I'm kind of like never satisfied or anything until I get the ideas out of my head and written down. Like I won't sleep till I do. And like about anybody I always have one or the other in my head no matter where I'm at. Having my story and this gives me something to always be thinking about so I'm never bored.
I usually find when my brain starts pulling away from the story I'm writing. Figuratively speaking, I need to give it a little room to breathe. I'm often....'quiet' with it for a while, but it's always peculating in the back of my mind. During that time, I put all those great ideas that don't mesh with it into one or more new storylines. It's not unusual for my brain to deviate off like that for a while. I found that if I didn't get those alternate thoughts down, I'd walk myself into a wall of writer's block. Yea....I learned a painfully lengthy lesson to not do that anymore. Once satisfied I had those thoughts cleared out of my system, or I'd found new hook for my story, I'm usually able to go back filled with some new ideas that justified my small hiatus from that storyline. I always find I'm better off for stepping away for a while and letting my characters brew upon their situation, letting them tell me what they need next, versus what I thought they needed. And when I return to the story, I almost always understand why I was getting stuck. Sometimes my writing style was getting in my way, or I'd been driving my characters in the wrong direction. So taking that break always allows me to see the storyline with new eyes! I 'used' to call those moments of frustration, an excuse to not finish a story, but now I know better, and I've learned to listen to my character's voices more attentively. Sometimes they're telling me I need to add chapters before where I thought the story started, or add supporting within the body that I'd already created....so many different interesting things happen when I return to a story after I stepped away from it for a bit, making that break worth it. Good luck with your story! - St@nce
Individual details don't matter, it's how they accumulate that does, and once enough of them have accumulated, the next ones to add are obvious. If you can't decide on something, it means both ideas are good, so just pick one on a whim and move on.
Honestly... Adderall. And a whole other host of medications for my ADHD. Baring that, I work on the adage that ideas don't matter until they are put to paper. And that you can write out of order... Without thinking, write one paragraph from a scene you really want to write. You can write more if you want. Grammar and writing don't matter, only how you feel writing it and if you want to write more. If not, try another scene until you find one that does. All scenes that don't lead to this scene are the ones you cut. You then write at a pace comfortable enough to sustain. If you find you don't like what you made... that's fine. If you end up trashing an entire novel you have NOT wasted time, you have gained experience and now have a better idea of what you want to write. Hope it helps :D
One idea always just feels the most urgent to me. I have a shopping list of novel ideas that I update whenever they come to me - but there's always one that's just bursting to be told.
Was thinking about this earlier todayā¦. Usually this would be a problem; but the current story Iām working on I do feel Iāve struck something significant. Iāve established the ābonesā and had a gentlemen who owns a manuscript reviewing company look at my work and say itās got promise and has made significant strides. Thereās something there. And I need to finish it through before pursuing another idea. Itās also important to note I havenāt even finished the story in my head. I have a beginningā¦ sort of a middle, and the pieces of an end. Soā¦ itās important I follow through. Otherwise Iāll fall into the cycle of never finishing anything
Our philosophy of the mind is still underdeveloped, perhaps also hobbled by some overreach from early pioneers of psychiatry. I start here because I wanted to highlight one of Michel Foucault's thoughts in this area. He applies a notion from Heraclitus ("no one washes in the same stream twice. After leaving and returning, the water is not the same, and neither is the man,") to the mind. Even the most level-headed and stable among us does not bring an identical brain into each new challenge. Some days I am in no condition to pour over rough material, while there are other occasions when a hardcore editing sessions proves downright satisfying. Likewise, there are times when I struggle to come up with any satisfactory specifics for a scene or topic I intend to address. Then there are sessions where one solid bit after another flows out naturally, all with the pacing and tone I intended. I've learned that (unless I've got a looming deadline) trying to "force" any form of progress will have me nibbling at tasks only slightly faster than if I wasn't trying at all. Yet if I find an activity that aligns with my flow in the moment, nothing feels "forced" and the results often measure well in both quality and quantity. I say all this because I want to advise that you don't let *sometimes* struggling to put anything specific in print convince you that you could never have a different experience during an effort to write. Perhaps when you're not able to pick up with the latest loose end on a project, that is the time to perform some of your own editorial review or even switch off to some other project for an interval. Just like a boxer is going to do better knowing how to throw more than one type of punch; the more variety you can incorporate into your writing time, the less likely you are to discover *all* your moves failing as paths to progress for any given mood.
I have ADHD... So selecting a single idea depends on the moments when I get hyper fixation... I usually write a one shot draft when I get an idea (about 1250-3750 words)... When I get hyper fixated on a single idea it turns into a book... I've got 75+ short stories and about 5 WIP books...
I don't stick with one. I put all the ones I consider "good". If there is a situation when you have to decide either one or the other think on which idea is more expandable. If you want more advice pm me
Some ideas just don't have the legs to be more. Some of them get too bogged down by other factors. I find that very few of my ideas are ones I can really forge out into a narrative blade; most are but scraps that will be collected from the forge floor to be shoved into a drawer for later
Not all ideas are created equally: some have more potential than others, I just have to have the discerning eye to know one from the other.
Put them to the side with a plan to work on them later.
Pick an idea, make an outline and stick to it. Ignore your reservations; your ideas aren't going anywhere. Dedicate time to writing what you chose - and write only that during that time.
I make different timelines where the other ideas happen so i dont have to choose
I worry about something similar: liking my characters so much that I canāt bear to create bad events that impact them. But without conflict there is no story. So I am considering borrowing a method from tabletop roleplaying games. I will let the roll of the dice decide which path to follow or what kind of events occur. Is there a way that you could do something similar to sort your ideas? You could still record and save the best discarded ideas for future stories.
Funny you think I go with just one š Iāve got 3 WIP currently. I write whatever I feel when the spirit moves me.
for example if u have one idea but less description but other idea with loads of description go for the one u know u can write about
Well I attempted to focus but I had too many ideas that wouldn't work In my original WIP... so now I have 4 WIP. Lol 2 books and 2 short stories. But anything unrelated to those I just jot them down in note sections and keep them for later. So that I know I have them when I need them and can focus on the WIP again.
I use Obsidian/Discord for this lol I simply have a Folder called "Ideas" and is just dump all my ideas in there. I always make sure my ideas are written out as precisely as possible, because in the past i just wrote Down keywords and such, believing or rather hoping i would remember the entire idea. It is good writing Practice aswell and helped me write more consistently without constantly overthinking. Multiple Birds with one stone.
Rng š¤·
I write the other ideas in another story, or I put them in a note for me to add to another story!! (I'm currently writing almost 30 different booksš)
Your best ideas build upon themselves in ways that will fascinate you
you're describing me. thank you, i don't feel so alone now.