As some of you may remember, I kind of got to this point where my muse just wouldn't spit out anything about any of my two books.
I've basically been stuck for weeks, waiting for something to write. It really was as if my words had dried out. People have so much advice about this: Force yourself to write (that got my muse into an even bigger snit), don't write at all (I was close to Godzilla-like rampages) and to write something else to get the inspiration flowing again (thanks Cassandra and T.J.).
The last is very likely one of the best pieces of writing advice I have hear in a long time. Since it's the same as writing through a block, but without forcing bad work into your Work in Progress. Eventually I got sooo tired of not writing that I gave up and bought yet another notebook to scribble in.
I found myself a nice little spot and stared at the blank pages for a while and started writing whatever was at the top of my head. And... it wasn't a poem. It wasn't a short. It was yet another book idea. Sigh.
I suspect that my muse - without telling me - went behind my back and worked on this story, which is why I just couldn't write what I am busy with. But the question is now: Where am I going to get time to write this one too?
Part of me is thinking about spending two days a week writing a specific book. Another part want to stick to the Fantasy in week, Western on weekend schedule. The urban fantasy (the new one) can get written whenever an idea occurs to me. But I'm worried that this will become a problem if all the ideas I get have to do with the new one causing my other two to stall.
I'm also worried about getting my characters confused, since I've now got a lot of people running around in my head, begging for attention.
How do you all deal with new book ideas? Do you write them down and forget about it until you're done with whatever you're busy with? Or do you multitask? How do you do it?
Depends on my mood. Multi-tasking is something I've gotten really good at, but sometimes those shiny new ideas really get to me. I have to write them down just to get them out of my head to work on something else.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote 10K words for a new WiP and I'm feeling on top of the world because she has finally quieted and I'm now able to revise another novel I've been working on. Life is good.
Nice! Maybe I should just write to shut Arian up. Then I can get back to my beast...
ReplyDeletePersonally, I only work on one novel at a time. I'll work on other shorts or poems, but just one novel at a time. So for me, it really depends on the idea as to whether I start working on it or set it aside for later. If I really like the idea, and I'm really confident in it, I start working on it. Otherwise, I set it aside until I've finished whatever project I was already working on.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I agree. writing something else until the inspiration flows again is great advice! :)
I can only focus on one project at a time. I'm easily distracted, so it's best for me to work on one book before jumping into a shiny new idea. If an idea pops into my head, I write it down for later.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you! Thank you for the follow. :)
If I can't get a new idea out of my head, I write just enough to sort out the voice I need for the idea. I would hate to miss out on an idea to develop later.
ReplyDeleteI get back to the main wip as soon as possible.
Thanks for the follow.
Hi there! Thanks for coming over to my blog! I'm following yours too.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I do. I frequently get a good book idea that I don't want to forget, but like everyone else, I don't have time to write a ton of books at the same time.
I do all my work on the computer. I type out the idea or even the first chap. then put it on my desktop screen and leave it. If I get to it soon. Great. If not, then I will some day.
I am having the same problem as you with one of my stories. I put it on the back burner. Don't work on it for a bit. Even if you don't work on it for a year, that's okay. When you do come back, read through the whole thing and you'll see it with fresh eyes.
Also, are you part of a critique group? I LOVE mine and they are so helpful when I'm stuck. They give great ideas.
Anyway, just a few things to think about. Good luck.
Hi! Thanks for finding my blog and leading me to this beautiful one!
ReplyDeleteI take notes when a new story comes to me, but I set it aside until I'm finished with the current draft I'm working on. A first draft gets hard; there are times I want to throw in the towel. If I give myself another wip to work on, I'll never push through the tough spots on the first. Just my method. I do write short fiction when I need to restart the creative juices, though.
Best of luck on your projects!
Hey all, thanks for coming back to my blog :-)And thanks for following!
ReplyDeleteMost of all, thanks for the advice, you all did a lot to put my mind at ease.
I'm going to just write the first chapter and jot down any ideas for it, but still focus on the Beast (btw, just a nickname for my fantasy epic. I suck at thinking out titles.)
I also like the idea of leaving the files on my desktop where I can see them. That way - optimistically - if I need something else to write while waiting to rewrite my drafts, I'll have something to do...
I don't have a crit group yet, since I'm struggling to let my babies free among people I don't know well. I'm currently having a friend reading the beast though. I need to check readers are able to follow the book...
No way can I write multiple novels at the same time. I have plenty of friends that can, but I am NOT that gifted. Good luck... and at least you've broken through your blockage. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I SWEAR I was following you! (I think google hates me) Anyway, I just followed you again. *sigh* Sorry.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving gem the sweetest comments. :)
Love,
Lola
I have many book ideas written down and sometimes I'll go back to them just to ponder. I have a novel and two nonfictions that I move back and forth to depending on where my inspiration is. Then of course there is blogging, which has overly distracted me for the past few months and has to be put into check in the weeks to come.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Hey Lola, you always were on my list of followers, so it must have been something on your end, but thanks for the re-follow anyway. I am so glad I'm past the blockage now, but I don't think I'm good/stupid enough to write three books at the same time either. I just don't have time when I'm this close to my final exams. So I'm just going to focus on the Beast while going to the other two if the (usually random) mood strikes.
ReplyDeleteOh and, it's easy to leave nice comments when you have such a nice blog :-)
Hey Lee, I also had that recently. I was blocking and I used the blog to ease the writing shoortage. Then I realized that blogging was keeping me from my writing. Eeeek. Did you hit 400 members yet?
My words probably aren't relevant now, but I feel compelled to comment. ^^
ReplyDeleteSince I tend to write rough drafts fairly quickly (NaNoWriMo is such a blessing), I find events that challenge me to write a novel in a month. I store away ideas for these (adding details if they come to me) and then write one when that certain month rolls around, using that time to take a needed break from my current WIP. It's what works best for me.
Brooke, as it happens, the story idea I mentioned is waiting for NaNo this year. ^_^ So it's very relevant.
ReplyDelete