We have had for the last few days some wonderful houseguests in our home. The kind of houseguests who don’t mind staying in our home with no kitchen. (Imagine that the fridge is in the dining room and the toaster oven in the living room.) My delightful husband and children have adjusted so well to this that we hardly notice the inconveniences anymore, although they make the people who come in the house crazy.
I am currently in the middle of writing not one but two books with a third short story potentially finding it’s way in there. See, this is a problem for me, I can’t seem to stop the new characters and story lines from plowing their way into my mind and making their way at home.
I’ve tried, after being given advice from Sandra and J. Hali, to make a notebook where I can write these ideas down to visit them later. Big problem. Even writing them down makes me start to write them and I lose track of what I need to be working on.
More times than not, I either abandon what I should be working on and write the new idea or I lose the new idea all together.
So, I’m asking all the writers out there for some great ideas on how to quiet the new people in my head and make them wait their turn. What do you do? Because right now it is a minefield inside of my poor brain and I could use the advice.
Of course maybe I just like craziness, because the dust and the banging in the house no longer bothers me at all.
Best to all of you!
6 comments:
I write down the thoughts, maybe type out some plot points, name, etc. in their own Word document on the computer and then leave it alone until a good chunk of the current project is done. Or, as you know, I'll work on a new project as a bribe to myself. If I get xx amount of chapters written in the first project then I can write one chapter of the new one. :-)
You must be disciplined, though, or all the work will be slip-shod and not to the best ability :-)
The characters will wait. Sometimes they won't be happy about it but as long as the ideas are down, they'll wait :-)
Good luck!
Plot bunnies pile in my brain. If I try to write them down I get side tracked. Hence the sci-fi being written instead of my PR. I make them wait in line and visit them so they know I haven't forgotten them.
You really need to learn to concentrate on one project though or your voices might change or you lose momentum.
I wish I could help more. I mail you my whip and chair so you can get them in order.
Don't know what to tell you, Rebecca. I write down a few points and sometimes will even do the synopsis, which I seem to start with anyway. Then I put it aside. Every now and then, they clamor in my head and I might pull it out and do a little more.
I've been working on disciplining myself to finish one story before I start another. It's not perfect yet but *grins* I'm trying!
I also write things down in a notebook and visit them later. Another thing you can do, is write the first chapter - the inciting incident - and perhaps that will help. You can always come back to it, and you have a jumping-off point. :)
Thanks for all the advice everyone!
Hmmm, quite the dilemma if the distractions take over. Like others, I create new folders (all in my Books folder) for every new idea. But there is a certain amount of discipline needed, eh?
Part of it is training the muse, I suspect. If you feel you are going to be consumed, set yourself a limit with the new idea. Some folks even use a timer to make sure they give the distraction a set amount of time. Some swear that after time, the muse adjusts to a time limit, like people who wake up a few seconds before the alarm goes off!!
Good luck, my dear. Ah, to have Too Many Ideas! *laughs* Great dilemma. *wink*
Smiles,
Chiron O'Keefe
The Write Soul: www.chironokeefe.blogspot.com
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