Although I'm not currently working on a major story or idea, I'd be lying if I said I didn't one day hope to get something into print. Publishing is a long and daunting process, it seems to me, and not a little terrifying.
But my problem seems to be centred more on one thing: I just can't seem to focus on one story long enough to write up a full draft. I have at least fifteen stories that I choose between. I write depending on what mood I'm in, rather like my reading. Do I feel like Fantasy? Tackling the Sci-Fi? Romance? Working on a Fanfiction? Believe me, I've got a semi-finished story in just about every genre.
So my question is this: How do you find that one idea that you feel confident enough about to actually say, yes, this is the story I one day want to hold in my hand as a published book? How do you decide which idea you want to become your official WIP; and how do you stick to it?
Image from here.
I just suggested this to someone else, too: Make an "I want to write about" list. It'll help you see the themes you really care about, and suss out which ideas truly interest you.
ReplyDeleteI have the opposite problem you have: It's hard for me to concentrate if I have more than one thing going on.
ReplyDeleteI always have a few ideas I'm contemplating, and I do a sort of beat sheet for anything I'm really excited about. I let beat sheets stew for weeks (months?!) until I pretty confident with where I'm going, then I start writing. I've learned to do my first drafts realatively quickly (a month or two) that way I can move on to something else while the draft sits.
Hope that helps a little. I'm looking forward to checking back so I can see what others had to say.
oh gosh. I don't know how to answer this question without sounding like a completely crazy person but I know when I can't stop thinking about it. When the characters are having conversaions in my head when I'm supposed to be doing a report at work. When I miss my exit because I'm thinking about a scene. When I wake up thinking about it because I was dreaming about it.
ReplyDeletehope that helps...
I'm lucky that the major projects I've tackled I've stayed all the way through. So, unfortunately, I have no advice.ed
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for the tips! I think I really do have to organise my writing. A few months ago I mad a list of all the unfinished stories I have, and tried to narrow it down to the ones I liked and wanted to continue, although there were so many that it didn't help all that much. XD
ReplyDeleteBegin. That's my advice. Begin. And then continue because half the time you might not know where it's going, but you'll know if it's holding on to you.
ReplyDeleteThere'll be lots of bumps along the way, but keep pushing through it. There are always bumps, so expect them. Good luck.