Help: How do you know which story to write first?

I agree with Sage. Write what you want to write, without regard to trends. You'll enjoy the process more and will (I think) write better. Plus, following trends is dangerous because of the lead time for getting published. I posted recently about trends on YA Highway (see the link in my sig).

As for your other projects, work on the one you're passionate about. When that fades (and it will) move back to the re-write. Or the third idea. There's no rule that says you can't work on more than one project at once. If there was, I'd be the biggest rule-breaker ever. Right now I'm completing a MG magic realism, a YA dystopian, considering a re-write of a trunked novel, outlining/character development of a whole new idea . . . It never ends. But it's nice to have different pieces going on at once. When I feel burned out or in the wrong mood for a certain piece, I can move to a different one and still be productive.

So, yeah. It's a juggling act.

Always, always write for yourself first. It's the only way you will finish pleasantly. The things I write that excite me, I finish quickly, and can't sleep without writing about them.

The book I am writing now I am so iching to just start writing it...but I hold myself back to write the outine, ponder over the plot, before I let myself go at the keyboard. Yet, when the planning is done...I finish it in a short time, because it excites me and I can't stop myself.

Aaagh I totally know what you mean! I just finished a novel and I'm in the thick of the query process, meanwhile I've got two other ideas clawing at the back of my mind. What I decided to do was work on all three at once-- querying, and writing the other two things-- unless my inspiration for one of the writing projects just completely fell off, in which case I'll stick with the one that's working better (or "has legs", as a professor told me once).

If you're concerned about the originality of your completed project, I think you should take some time to think about exactly what makes it unique. I had similar concerns with mine, and the more I thought about it the more I was able to tease out what was different about it. It definitely made me feel better to decide what those things were and to reconcile myself with the idea that with pretty much anything you write, there will be other works that are similar to it in one way or another. Now I have peace of mind, at least, even if it does get repeatedly rejected.

I just don't want you to give up on your YA fantasy love story because of market trends (although I may be biased...having written a YA fantasy love story thingy also). Keep revising! But you can do other things at the same time. That's my advice.

It's hard when there isn't enough time and energy to do all the things we want to do! Since the vast majority of first novels never get published, and since you have two new projects you're excited about, I'd probably suggest putting the finished one on the back burner for now. Between it being a first novel and the saturation of the market with the type of story it is, there probably isn't much point in working on it when you have other ideas clamouring for attention. You can always come back to the first novel later, when you have more experience under your belt and decide whether it's worth reworking or is simply an 'apprentice work' that will go in your bottom drawer and stay there. (We ALL have things in that ubiquitous bottom drawer.)

As far as which of the other two to work on, if that's what you decide to do, I'd suggest writing a couple chapters of each and seeing which one really grabs you at that point. Then keep working on that one. Or maybe you'll discover that you can multi-task with novels. (Personally, I'm GREAT at multi-tasking, EXCEPT on novels. Sigh.)

Good luck!

Cool, sounds like you've got those creative juices flowing, which is a good thing. Start worrying when you don't have a great plot idea come up and bang you on the head on a weekly basis.

Neil Gaiman says that the best thing to get around so-called "writers block" is to have several projects on the go at once. If you're not feeling the love for one, go work on the other.

I go with the one that has me the most excited. Sometimes I'll jump between ideas if they're both really grabbing me. If you happen to think one has the best chance at publication, and you love that idea, there's no harm is starting there.

A lot depends on what your end goal is for writing. If you're writing to learn and enjoy and hope to one day publish, write what excites you. If you're in a dedicated march to have a book ready for submission in X time frame, then write what you feel is the best idea and the one with the best chance at landing an agent.

But remember, you don't HAVE to submit everything you write. There's nothing wrong with writing for the pure enjoyment of it, and then if you end up with something great, submitting it later. Most writers sell their later books, not their first few. Enjoy them, even if you write four at a time

Jayelle:
I worked so hard and do believe there are unique elements to it, but I don't know if there's enough to have publishers want to pick it up, or even an agent. And I am far from finishing the revisions.

Then I had another idea! And I loved it and haven't seen anything too similar to it, but it is another girl MC fantasy love story type. I started the first chapter and outline because I was so excited to write it.

But, I had another idea recently. And the urge to write it is driving me mad. In some ways, I feel it's more fresh because it's a male MC and the story/writing style in my head would lean more towards a YA male audience. A gut feeling tells me to just drop the other two and work on this one. But it's so...hard...to...let...go!

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I'm going to disagree slightly with the other posters. I think that you need to finish the revisions on your current project because:

1. you've spent almost 2 years working on that book - the manuscript is completed and you're basically going through the polishing process based on initial rejections. That is an invaluable process for any writer - it will make you think about the structure, the plot and the characterisation and it's all stuff that you will take with you for the next project; and

2. making yourself sit down and polish and revise gives you discipline. If you get an agent or a publishing deal, you're going to have to do it anyway, so having made yourself go through the process so that you know you can do it will train you for having to do it again; and

3. once you've finished polishing and revising and have got it out on submission, THEN you can start on your next project so you've got something new and exciting to keep you occupied while you're waiting for people to get back to you.

One of the things I think is common to new writers is that they get "ooh shiny!" syndrome and get so caught up in a new idea that they don't spend as long as they could do finishing their first project. I know you're worried that your first manuscript is too similar to other books on the market, but you won't know for sure until you start getting the feedback from agents. If you don't get the revisions done and your revised manuscript out there then you will never know for sure.

I completely sympathise with just wanting to get on with something new (I've got an idea for a zombie novel that I am dying to start writing) but I think you'd be doing yourself a grave disservice by not honing that first manuscript.

MM

Momento Mori said:

I'm going to disagree slightly with the other posters.

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And, see, that's what's so cool about a place like this. You can get varying opinions with different reasonings, which you then consider to make the best-informed choice for yourself. This is also a good skill to have acquired for when your book starts making its way through the process on its way to publication, since you'll often get conflicting input.

Momento Mori said:

you've spent almost 2 years working on that book - the manuscript is completed and you're basically going through the polishing process based on initial rejections. That is an invaluable process for any writer - it will make you think about the structure, the plot and the characterisation and it's all stuff that you will take with you for the next project; MM

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While I agree with everything Mori said (as I often do), I am going to add a caveat to this one point.

If you honestly feel that the first book is one that is unlikely to sell because there are so many like it out there, putting more effort into it seems a waste of time. It would indeed be a good learning experience, and if you think you can give the book a fresh twist to stand out in the saturated market, then by all means finish it. But if you've reached the level where you know that first novel is never going to be anything more than a trunk novel (and so many first novels are), it might be smart to start the next project and put your energy into that.