Ideas have never been a problem for me. I have an entire file cabinet full of them. The problem is, I can’t write books as quickly as I get new ideas. And I love, love, love so many of my ideas. To keep from having a brain meltdown, I make folders for the ideas I love and file them for later. That frees up my mind to stop worrying that I might forget my shiny new light bulb, and it allows me to keep working on what I’m supposed to be writing.
Confession: I’m not writing anything right now.
I should be. I was supposed to be writing my Regency fantasy story. I’ve done a ton of work on it. Wrote 90,000 words. It’s a mess.
Another Regency fantasy idea attacked me from out of nowhere at a Barnes and Noble author event. I loved this idea so much, it began to overshadow the previous Regency fantasy idea. I went ahead and set it in the same universe, thinking that would make me excited to finish both, but no. I’ve got 30,000 done on this one.
And then there is Onyx Eyes. I started that shiny gem back in 2013, set it aside for several years, then got it back out last year and worked really hard on it. It’s at 50,000 words, and I’m just not feeling it.
I owe my readers a new Achan and Vrell story that I’ve been talking about for years. The sequels to RoboTales have been patiently waiting their turn. All the Thirst duology needs is a rewrite. And ever since I started substitute teaching, I’ve been dying to write a middle grade fantasy. I’ve got three middle grade shiny light bulbs blinking at me from the sidelines, trying to get my attention.
This is, frankly, not working at all.
Part of the problem is that I worked very hard for ten years straight. I wrote book after book after book, back to back, without a break. And I’m plum worn out. Another issue is that I’ve decided to apply to grad school to earn my master’s degree in teaching, and I’ve been writing a lot of essays and studying for exams. And I’m still substitute teaching a couple days a week too. I’m just busier than I want to be, you know? But the biggest problem is that I’m struggling to commit to one idea all the way through to completion. I love all of my ideas. I hoard them all in a big pile in my brain. And I want to have written them all yesterday.
Do you ever struggle with this? If so, here are some ideas to help you move forward, but I’ll be honest. I haven’t moved forward yet, so I have no proof that any of these will work. My grad school application is due next Monday. Once I turn that in, then I will be able to write fiction again, so here is hoping that at that point, I’ll commit to one of my ideas and start making some progress. I’ll keep you posted.
- Pick one. I honestly don’t care how you choose. It could be the idea that is the most complete or the one that you haven’t started yet. It could be the idea with the highest concept or the one that you just can’t stop thinking about. Just pick one and commit to finishing it. At this point, you need to start writing again. Anything will do to get you going. Tell your other ideas to hold on. You’ll be back later.
- Make a character board. Having something visual to inspire you will help keep your story on your mind. Use the internet or magazines and print or clip some pictures of your characters. Hang this by your computer where you can see it as you write.
- Write at least five days a week for a half hour a day. When I’m on a deadline, I usually write 2000 words a day, minimum, and that often takes me three-four hours. I’m not ready for that kind of word count yet. I’m off my game, so I need to ease back into this writing thing. Once I start getting into it, I’ll be eager to write for longer periods of time. For now, I’ll set a timer for thirty minutes and that’s it.
- Tell a friend. Tell at least one friend about your daily writing goal and ask them to hold you accountable.
- Write until you finish the book. It doesn’t have to be great. Just finish it. It will be good practice for your frazzled brain. And who knows? You’ll very likely start getting into it along the way, loving this story so much you’ll start to want to finish it. At that point, change your goals and write longer each day.
- Set a deadline. This one, I’m not sure that I’ll do right now. Like I said, I’ve been writing like crazy for the past ten years. I think my brain needs a deadline break. At the same time, I know that my lack of deadline isn’t helping me get anything done. There is just something about a due date that lights a fire in me. So if my “take it easy” approach isn’t getting the words in, I will set a deadline, and I know it will help.
This is my plan. Again, I don’t know that it will work. The shiny light bulbs are always calling, trying to distract me from getting any work done. And should I succeed in my attempt to enter grad school, I will have grad school classes to attend starting this May. (!) So I want to take things easy until I know what life is bringing my way. Then I can make plans. For now, I’m going to take it slow with one idea until I finish it. Then I’ll pick another idea and finish it. And so on.
How about you? What do you do when you have too many shiny light bulbs?
Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
I had this problem after my winter break started. I decided in this stage of my life, I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to push myself to commit to one project. Instead I set a small goal for each day (300 words), knowing that a little consistently quickly adds up over time and it takes the pressure off myself knowing if I’m not “feeling” a project that day, I have a whole drawer full of others I love just waiting for attention. It’s a bit like head hopping on steroids, haha. I don’t know if I’d recommend this as a system to others, simply because I know this isn’t a way to meet deadlines. But it has made writing manageable and enjoyable for me when it previously created stress trying to figure out how to balance it with everything else that is vying for my attention.
It’s understandable to have seasons where other things take precedence, but kudos to those who have a lot on their plate and still make time to pour into their projects. It’s not easy.
Good for you, Dee! I love this advice. It’s so important that writing is still fun when you’re in a stage like this. Pushing too hard can make you want to give up–or need to give up when things just become too much.
I don’t know if I actually have this problem the way that you’re describing it. I’m always coming up with new ideas, but I only find myself wanting to jump from my fleshed-out WIP to the not-fleshed-out idea when I’m having trouble with my WIP. At the beginning of winter break I hadn’t been working on it for a while because of finals and other school pressure, and I was coming up with all sorts of fun little writing projects I could do instead. But I made myself sit down and write a few scenes of my WIP, and started getting back into the flow of it. And now I’ve discovered that I’m no longer very interested in those other little writing projects.
But I really am enjoying my current WIP. In the past I’ve abandoned projects when I wasn’t feeling them or didn’t know what to do next (outlining as I go has helped so much with this).
Good luck on the apps, Jill, and hope you figure out which idea you want to work on next soon!
Thanks, Maya! It sounds like you worked it out. Good job! I’m so glad you’re enjoying your WIP.
I always have a ton of ideas flowing through my busy little brain, and almost all of them tend to excite me. If I forget an idea, oh well. It narrows down my writing. For 2019, my writing goal is to write 6 books, one for every couple of months. I outlined all of my ideas before 2019 started, and I have all of my project titles on a Word document in the order of which I’ll complete them. Then I write when I feel like it, knowing that I have a deadline. I have to work on one project until I finish it, but with all of my other exciting ideas, I’m motivated to keep writing.
Wow! You are ambitious, Amanda! Sending you positive thoughts so that the words keep flowing all year long!
Oh, dear, I failed step one! XD I’m no good at picking just one idea which is why I’m working on four books at once, but I do try to be very committed to those four books I’m writing (given all of the other ideas I have, that’s quite a feat). Excellent advice!
Well, as long as the words keep flowing for all four books, keep on going! Sounds like you have a system that’s working. 🙂
I like to put my stories in an order, like a to-do list. That way, if they start bugging me, I can point to the list and say, “Look. I’m going to write you, after I finish these. You’re third on the list.” Or something like that. It keeps me focused, knowing I have to finish what I’m currently working on to reach that shiny new idea.
Love that! I love that you are talking to your stories and care about their feelings. 🙂
I’ve been trying to write a book since sixth grade(I am in ninth now) and I haven’t finished anything. After a few days, I seem to get tired of the idea and the motivation goes away. There’s one that I tried to write a while back that is based on my experience in middle school and it turned out super bad, in my opinion. So now, I’m trying to write that. I feel like I’m off to a really good start and I might be able to finish it.
And what about jumping around the plot? If I know exactly what’s going to happen and where, is jumping around the book when writing an okay thing to do?
It’s really hard to finish that first book, Elizabeth, but you can do it! Jumping around the plot is fine if that’s the process that keeps you writing. As long as you are getting the story written, it doesn’t matter what order you go in. Keep at it!
I get it, girl. I started writing a book when I was twelve, finished it last April, sent it to Beta Readers, then decided it was too awful and gave up on it. 🙂 I think one of the things with writing books is that you have to know when it just isn’t working. Set it aside and start a new book. When I was twelve, I loved mermaids, but by the time I turned fourteen, I got really board with the mermaid book I had been writing for two years. I told myself I just had to get through it and ended it at about 15,000 words. Then, in six months I wrote a 56,000 word novel, which ended up being a story I was far more passionate about/interested in.
And now I need to edit it….
Anyways, let’s hope I don’t give up on this one in the editing process!
I have had stories that I thought would be a great idea, and flopped. Sometimes it’s just a matter of choosing where to focus your talent and eliminating those other books that are just no fun and waisting your time.
Can’t wait for you to go to grad school for all the articles on how to stay inspired and get stories done while studying and writing essays for school :’) And I definitely relate to the shiny lightbulbs situation. It’s so hard to choooooooose XD
Oh, yes. Those articles will be coming. I’ve been re-learning to write essays these past few weeks, and they’re not my favorite. Bring on the fiction, please! LOL
Ahhhh, this is DEFINITELY my biggest writing struggle. I often feel like I’m spinning my wheels; I’m writing a little bit on a lot of things, so I never make any substantial, satisfying progress on any one project. I’ll 100% be returning to this post later.
Eleanor | On the Other Side of Reality
I’m thinking that, perhaps, story spinning is a season. It could be that our brains need some time to play with lots of ideas until one grabs hold. It just seems to me like my season is lasting longer than normal… 😉
I have a note on my phone where I type up tiny little snippets of ideas. For larger ones, I make a folder on my laptop where I type up everything I know about that idea (scenes, characters, plot). Then I let it all sit for a while…I’ll eventually not be so excited about it, or perhaps that idea will have grown to where I feel I can start writing it.
It’s so hard not to get distracted, but knowing that I have to finish my current WIP before I can start anything new is good incentive. 🙂
I used to have sooooo much trouble trying to work on too many story ideas at once, so none of them went very far. But about two years ago I decided to just focus on one–the one I’m now working toward publishing–and I learned how to harness all the new shinies.
Whenever a story idea pops up I write it down. If I’m super excited about it or it’s especially well-developed, I allow myself up to a week (it usually doesn’t need that long) to jot down ideas, make Pinterest boards, and flesh out some of the characters or relationships or plot points or whatever. Then I’ve satisfied the plot bunny enough that it’s not stealing all of my attention and I can get back to my main project. Then the process repeats for alllllll the plot bunnies. XD
I’ve also learned that I can usually work on multiple projects at a time as long as they’re in different stages of development. I can work on outlining one story while I’m writing another while I’m editing another, and that way I (supposedly) don’t fall too terribly far behind on my massive list of ideas.
This post was SO helpful! I have always struggled with this problem, ever since I started writing actual books.