Future Novels?

Stunted · Oct 5, 2009

How many ideas for novels do you have that you're definitely going to write? How many that you might write? What are your thoughts on this issue?

I have one planned out which has characters, voice, most of a plot, the whole nine yards. I want to wait until I feel like I'm skilled enough to write it and had a little more life experience. To my surprise, I'm actually feeling like I'm getting to that point. It may be the next one I write.

I have another idea which will take even more skill to execute. It has characters, a setting, a voice, and little shreds of a plot, but the structure is shit and there are HUGE hunks of story that I haven't figured out yet.

There are two more ideas floating around which I like a lot, but which I don't think of as things that I will definitely write.

There are even vaguer, less developed ideas which come back to me sometimes.

My list of good ideas shifts, but not very much or often.

My first novel fell into the first category, inevitable. My WIP came to me suddenly one night and had to be written. I actually started it a month later.

So, what about you guys? How do you operate?

Stijn Hommes · Oct 5, 2009

Why wait? A lot of novels never get written because the person who wants to write them is afraid it's not as good on paper as it was in their head. (It never will be). If you write a novel now, you still have the time to edit it later.

DrZoidberg · Oct 5, 2009

For me good ideas pile up faster than I can write them. This morning I jotted down a new idea. That makes the total of thirty novels, which I think are good, complete with plot, story, characters, emotional build up, key scenes. I also have hundreds of bad ideas. I write them down too. I've found that bad ideas can often be worked into stuff I'm writing as a sub-plot or just something interesting in the story. So I keep them.

But I have no idea if I'll ever be able to write all of the stories I believe in. I know there's two that I've written so much on that I'd be an idiot if I wouldn't finish them. But beyond that, it's a question of time. I just don't know.

thethinker42 · Oct 5, 2009

I have 7 or 8 that are fully outlined (some even have a few chapters written) that I intend to finish eventually. I've got my next 4 lined up, then I'll either work on one of those 8 back-burnered books or work on whatever idea comes to me between now and then.

At least I know I always have something to work on. LOL

Telstar · Oct 5, 2009

One, which i think is good enough to be written, eventually.

nitaworm · Oct 5, 2009

I have about another eight I plan to write. Since I seem to write about 2.5 a year the chances of me writing them are high.

Danthia · Oct 5, 2009

I always have six or eight ideas brewing. What I do is just make notes when they come to me, and eventually one of the ideas will rise to the top and I'll know what needs to be done to write it. Then I work on that one.

motormind · Oct 5, 2009

I have already jotted down some notes for five novels. Outlining won´t start until I plan to write the novel immediately afterward.

Phaeal · Oct 5, 2009

At least three in one series (probably more); eight or nine in another series; another series, milieu planned, number of books unknown; another series related to Series One, at least three.

Lots.

Mr Flibble · Oct 5, 2009

I'm booked up ( pun intended) for the next ten years or so.

sunna · Oct 5, 2009

Up until last year, I had just the series that's on sub planned out. Now, in the last 8 months or so, I've come up with 7 really-freaking-good ideas that I just can't wait to work on when I'm done with this WIP. I've got back-jacket blurbs or full outlines on each of them, and in some cases 5-10K written already. This is not normal for me.

Maybe they dumped something in the city water back in January, I dunno. But I'm not complaining.

ChaosTitan · Oct 5, 2009

I have all sorts of ideas on my hard drive, some of which are up to ten years old and counting. Some are just a few lines and character sketches. Some have several thousand words of story and partial outlines.

I am never lacking for new ideas, which is a problem for the old, abandoned ones. But I suppose if one of those old ideas ever wanted to be written badly enough, it would overshadow the "New! Shiny!" ideas and get written.

I think it's good to have a reservoir of other novel ideas tucked away. For me, I have something to fiddle with when I get stuck with something else.

Cranky · Oct 5, 2009

Hmm. I have three ideas I'll definitely take a crack at writing. I have several more that are "maybes", and then more unformed ideas that may or may not lead to a novel. Maybe short stories or novellas, hard to say.

I write whichever grabs me most at the time or is the best-developed idea. Some ideas fall apart when I start thinking about them in-depth or if I try to outline them. Others stall out for other reasons. But I never know what works until I actually get it written in the first place, or at least put several thousand words into it. I've trunked four different novels in the last couple of years. I may or may not trunk the one I'm working on next...it remains to be seen.

C.M.C. · Oct 5, 2009

I only have half of an idea right now, which isn't much fun. I hate trying to be creative.

ejwriter · Oct 5, 2009

i have 1 written, 1 outlined and 1 fully formed in my mind, so... 3.
additionally, i have about half a dozen paragraphs jotted down that could eventually turn into stories of their own.

Jake G · Oct 5, 2009

I have three new ideas. Right now, they only exist as one line sentences in a memo notebook. However, I feel confident I can expand them all into novels. The trick for me is the outline and how I will solve Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen-type plot holes in each of them.

mscelina · Oct 5, 2009

I have a filing cabinet in my office, tucked into the corner right beside my desk. It's full of novel ideas, storylines, fully drawn out character sheets, worlds that I've built (including history, culture, timelines, races, climate, topography, religion, etc) and research on historical figures. If I had to guess, because I'm not going to count, I'd say I've probably got anywhere from 50 to 75 other stories.

shethinkstoomuch · Oct 5, 2009

I have one semi-outlined out/planned (a spec fic I've been working on on-and-off for about three years). Most of the time I have characters kicking around before they get stories, so...maybe three more books in the offing?
These all have little paragraphs and character sketches amassed in various journals. I need to get typing!

aadams73 · Oct 5, 2009

ChaosTitan said:
I have all sorts of ideas on my hard drive, some of which are up to ten years old and counting. Some are just a few lines and character sketches. Some have several thousand words of story and partial outlines.

I am never lacking for new ideas, which is a problem for the old, abandoned ones. But I suppose if one of those old ideas ever wanted to be written badly enough, it would overshadow the "New! Shiny!" ideas and get written.

I think it's good to have a reservoir of other novel ideas tucked away. For me, I have something to fiddle with when I get stuck with something else.

This. All of this. coming up with ideas is never a problem for me. They pop up when I least expect them. I saw a picture last night at one of my regular non-writing blogs and a story idea popped into my head. So I opened my idea file and jotted it down.

Right now I know for sure the next two I'm going to write. It's the order that's vexing me. They're both jockeying for second place.

dahlfan · Oct 5, 2009

I had this one idea that was very solid, but I put on the backburner because I think it would be YA, and I hate YA so why would I write something I would never read myself?

This other idea I have is not outlined, but it used to whirl around my head a lot a couple months ago. I've since neglected it because, again, it's nothing I'd personally real.

Now, my latest idea, has finally bloomed into a manuscript, and it is something that I would actually read, and I think it shows a natural maturation in my idea process. All of my old ideas were like weeds, and this one is multi-layered, and complex and far from linear. I'm proud of myself for even thinking of it.

Last night, in a dream, something came to me- an idea for a fantasy series, and as much as I abhor the idea of writing fantasy even if my favourite books, and shows have has elements of fantasy, I think I will hang on to this idea. The title and concept came to me in a dream, so that must mean something. Right?

scarletpeaches · Oct 5, 2009

I don't have stories. I have characters queueing up in my head.

dahlfan · Oct 5, 2009

*read

*had

Sorry, typos, and it won't let me edit.

JoNightshade · Oct 5, 2009

I've got about 4 full novel ideas on the back burner. Seeing as I've been working on the WIP for like 2 years now, that should last me a good decade. Two of them are sci fi and two are contemporary fiction. If I am able to get an agent with the WIP, which is contemporary fiction, then I'll continue on in that vein. If I don't get an agent, I'm switching to sci fi.

Nothing is written down, unless you count that two of the novels have really crappy first drafts I won't even be looking at when I start again. I don't take notes... like Scarlet, it's all about characters, and I know my characters' entire life stories by heart. So it's just a matter of picking and choosing the bit I want to feature in the novel. Oh, except for one of the sci fi books, I've got a notebook with some research and world-building stuff.

Fulk · Oct 5, 2009

I have about 4 solid novel ideas at the moment (though some lack details), the one I'm currently working on may be a series, and I have a list of other random ideas that have come to me. Currently, most of these other ideas seem to be subplots of my novels, or at most a short story, but with the way writing works, some of them might insist on being full length novels.

Niwo · Oct 5, 2009

I have a TON. I get more and more. But I always get them in really inconvient times, where I can't write them down. But it doesn't matter, the more ideas I get, the better I will be at getting ideas. They're all pretty good, but some of them stand out and I remember them. My advice is to just write. You can always rewrite it if you someday in twenty years should happen to sit on a rainy day and be in need of an idea. And if not, well, it's becuase you've had better ideas meanwhile.

Future Novels?

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