Petofsuccubus Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 What do you do when you're in the middle of writing one story and an idea for another comes to you? I really want to finish what I'm working on now, but this new story seems like it will be good too. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canterro Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 What do you do when you're in the middle of writing one story and an idea for another comes to you? I really want to finish what I'm working on now, but this new story seems like it will be good too. Any thoughts? Sure, I have plenty of ideas but I try to keep them under control. It's me who's the master, right? I like having two stories "opened". I write a chapter for one, and then, to have a break, I finish a chapter for the other. It works. Anything else that comes to my mind, and it does, in huge amounts, I organize into folders for future stories In every story-to-be folder I have a file "notes" and I throw all my ideas, thoughts, etc in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorbidFantasy Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Half me works are unfinished pieces. It's a sad state to be in, because I'd get great inspirations to start stuff, but then don't have the time to finish them all or run out of ideas for some of them. Oh well, you lose some, you win some. It's all about finding that illusive balance between quality and quantity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinigamiinochi Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 I used to write whatever I wanted, whenever I was inspired, but then my list of unfinished fanfics became so overwhelming, I had to stop. Now I just write down notes and plot bunnies for later use, if I ever get around to finishing something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petofsuccubus Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 This new character is really bugging me to write about her. I'm actually considering starting a chapter now, but my current story with Nessa is going to be my last in the series for a while. I'm not really sure if I should wait on it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeSuperBee Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 IMO if an author has a reasonable number of works in progress under his or her belt then it's perfectly fine to start another one. It's hard to ignore a plotbunny when your mind is already vividly imagining exactly how you're going to write it! From experience, I've found that forcing yourself to finish your current project when you're burning to write something else results in writing that could've been better. I at least save a draft of the plotbunny, then try to finish the original project. As long as you don't do anything like publish the start of a sequel when your first story is unfinished you're probably fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petofsuccubus Posted January 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 IMO if an author has a reasonable number of works in progress under his or her belt then it's perfectly fine to start another one. It's hard to ignore a plotbunny when your mind is already vividly imagining exactly how you're going to write it! From experience, I've found that forcing yourself to finish your current project when you're burning to write something else results in writing that could've been better. I at least save a draft of the plotbunny, then try to finish the original project.As long as you don't do anything like publish the start of a sequel when your first story is unfinished you're probably fine. Well, I began the first chapter. I have to say, it feels better to not have her kicking me in the shins for not writing about her. It does make me wonder if one or both works will suffer from having two ongoing stories though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminita Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 i have list of plot bunnie's i'm trying to compile. As for how many stories i could handel at a time 3 max as lon as its not the same series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Bitch Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 One idea? I'm bloody drowning in my WIP ocean. And as I want all my stories work on their own while still being connected to each other, let's just say.... thasss not nice. (FUCK. Now. I. Am. Going. To. Stop. Emoing.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yblue Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 I sort of made a rule for myself that I can't have more than 2 stories on WIP. I can't post anything else until one of them is finished. What I usually do when a new idea hits me, I write it down. I start writing the new story... and then often another idea pops into my head and I start working on that too. Sometimes I take notes for 4 stories in one day. I have a file named 'scribbles' for all my screaming plotbunnies and 90% of them will never see the light of day, especialy the ideas for longer stories. But at least I had fun seeing them develope in my head. I think my mind goes way faster than I can write a story. When my thoughts are into it I practically live and breathe the story I'm working on, so when I can finally sit down and write, I'm a dozen chapters ahead, and I don't feel like writing the earlier events anymore. I'm just not able to get into the mood for the piece that I should be writing anymore. So generally I write the future part down to use it when the time comes (and if the story didn't change course along the way) And then I read the entire story again, until I get to the point where I left off, hopefully back on track. If not? Or if work or school or anything came up, I just start over. Reading your own stories again also helps to filter out inconsistencies etc, so it's not always a waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetKL Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 (edited) Hey all, I've found that working on more than one story at a time is definitely the way to go. I like to work in rotation, updating one story a week. This gives me plenty of room to writing and complete the stories I'm passionate about but the freedom to avoid the dreaded writers block. It's the best way that I've gound to keep the writing potent and free of redundency. There is a tendency in long writing for the chapters to blur together. The content seems to become more monotonous and less poinent and the characters just blend together at the edges. Even as a writer you can get so caught up in what's going on at the moment that you forget about the speedbump two chapters down the road. I find that writing outlines in advance helps prevent that but ultimately if you're switching stories between chapter updates you're more likely to take a step back and see the big picture more clearly. Like all writing its easy to get sidetracked and never actually finish writing it. I don't think that creating more stories helps that problem, but if you're that easily distracted, maybe there is something going wrong in the story itself, and that's why you find you're mind wondering. Happens to all writers. (Raises hand) Just have to keep working it until your excited about the work again. I always keep the full chapters of a story open when I write. You have to go back and read for the details because random characteristic inconsistencies and name swaps will piss readers off. I keep a cheat sheet. Name connection and physical features off to one side so that I can quickly reference, okay he has blonde hair or blue eyes not black hair like i wanted to write. Also helps create more well rounded characters and better discriptions even of side characters, suddenly when Jake sees Cindy's brown eyes he's reminded of Kelly's eyes and how they were more gentle and soft. That sort of the thing. Jet Edited May 19, 2009 by JetKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serani Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I have a notebook of ideas I keep so that when inspiration like that strike, I can get the things down that are important. If I tried to write more than one story at a time, I think I'd completely lose the thread of the first. In fact, when I did "Hot Springs," I almost didn't get back to "Protector." I'm positive that the ideas I started in "Hot Springs" influenced the direction of my plot in Protector. It would be very easy to move from story to story, never really finishing one. So, I write down notes and set it aside and go back to the one I'm working on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DeusExProcella Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 This is my biggest weakness >_<. I'll be in the process of writing a brilliant (in my humble opinion) idea, organizing every facet of the story, outlining the whole thing, coming up with outrageously detailed backgrounds, motives, and foreshadowing. Then out of nowhere, usually around chapter two, I get hit with ten or twelve sequels and at least four prequels to the story I'm writing. Not only are they just as detailed as the original story, they're usually more interesting because I've already burnt myself out on the first story. I really should try some of the methodologies mentioned in this topic. Such as having a rotating update cycle or just keeping a document of notes, writing a first chapter, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.