Too many ideas

[TashaGoddard]

Do you all try to write one book at a time? Is it possible to write more than one at a time, or do you think you need to concentrate exclusively on one for it to get the attention it deserves?

At the moment, I am only writing (i.e putting it on paper/screen) one novel (or trying to :(), but I have another three or four in my head and sometimes they take over, when I'm trying to concentrate on the WIP. Any strategies to deal with this? I'm wondering if I should just take whatever is coming and write down the scenes/plots/etc. from the other books if that's what happens to be coming out of my head, as it were, rather than try to push them away and force the WIP out. But I'm concerned that if I do this, I'll just end up with 20 WIPs and never actually manage to finish one of them! Then again, I'm also worried that if I push them away, at some point I might completely forget the ideas/scenes/etc. and that could be a shame.

[Moondancer]

I would say write them rather than try to concentrate on one at a time. If you force the work that's how it will read... It could be you are having a problem progessing from a turning point and the best way to handle it is to walk away from it for a bit...however, at some point you will need to finish something . As you said starting too many new projects and trying to write them all at once might be a way a avoiding finishing any one project. Try a notebook or text doc that keeps your ideas safe and work only on the ones that are clamoring for attention. Once those are finished, look at your list again. Some ideas that might have seemed good or great when you first thought of them, might not look so great the second time around.

[SheliaRudesill]

I can just handle one story at a time. In fact, I can't concentrate on writing one while trying to promote another!

Moondancer has a great idea and I do it, too. Keep a notebook and keep tract of the scenes or ideas for future stories that cloud your mind. Once you get ideas down or words or scenes you'll be able to go back to the task at hand and finish your major project.

I'm anxious to see if my husband responds to this because he writes several novels at the same time! I can't keep up with him.

Anyway, good luck!

[Andrew Jameson]

I tend to agree with Moondancer -- I think writing two or three things at the same time is actually beneficial, as you can jump from one work to another when you get stuck. Walking away and letting a work rest lets your subconscious percolate through a stream of ideas, so that when you return you (hopefully) have a fresh outlook on the problem. I do the same thing in my (non-writing) professional work, and I think there, as well as in writing, I would simply be a lot less productive were I forced to work on a single thing at any one time.

That's not necessarily implying that jumping back and forth will work for everyone -- if it doesn't, don't do it. In particular, of course, you need to be jumping back and forth. If you're working on project A, and then jump to project B, and then to C and D and E and F, and never get back to A (let alone B. Or C!) because you're bored with it now, and the characters from project G through J are calling your name... well, that's not very useful, is it?

[johnnycannuk]

Tasha,

I think this depends on the temerpent and ability of the writer and there is no general rule. As a software engineer, I have to do this all the time -- work on multiple, disparate programs and applications. I can also do the same thing with writing.

But I do it in an organized fashion just like moondancer -- one at a time for a short period, then another for a short period, then another (perhaps back to the first one, perhaps not)...

Mike

[Spookster]

The word "triage" keeps popping into mind here. Okay, a paramedic responds to a car accident. What's the first thing they do? Assess the situation. The patients are obviously going to be treated according to severity. The head trauma is first priority. But, you can't leave a broken ankle unattended or it will never heal.

It's the same for writing. Your WIP is your first priority, but you can't ignore secondary/future stories or they will never develope.

I keep a separate file for ideas (creatively titled: Ideas). If I find I'm too distracted by new ideas to work on my WIP, I simply jot down the info in the idea folder for future refference. This way, I don't worry about loosing potential information and I am no longer distracted, so I can focus on the project at hand.

[Jamesaritchie]

Do you all try to write one book at a time? Is it possible to write more than one at a time, or do you think you need to concentrate exclusively on one for it to get the attention it deserves?

At the moment, I am only writing (i.e putting it on paper/screen) one novel (or trying to :(), but I have another three or four in my head and sometimes they take over, when I'm trying to concentrate on the WIP. Any strategies to deal with this? I'm wondering if I should just take whatever is coming and write down the scenes/plots/etc. from the other books if that's what happens to be coming out of my head, as it were, rather than try to push them away and force the WIP out. But I'm concerned that if I do this, I'll just end up with 20 WIPs and never actually manage to finish one of them! Then again, I'm also worried that if I push them away, at some point I might completely forget the ideas/scenes/etc. and that could be a shame.

I think it depends entirely on the writer. I always have more than one novel in progress. There is usually one main novel I concentrate on, but I always have at least one other novel I'm working on, and sometimes up to three others.

But there is a danger. Some writers who try this never finish anything, or what they do finish doesn't come out very well.

I think you just have to try it and see how it goes for you.

[TashaGoddard]

Hmm. It sounds like the best thing may be to get the extraneous stuff down on paper and out of the way when it comes up, but keep concentrating on the WIP. In theory that should mean the WIP gets finished, but there's something to jump straight into if I start drying up on the WIP and/or when the WIP is finished. It all makes perfect sense. Now to see if it works for me.

Thanks guys!

[dklein]

Idea journals are fantastic. One of the added benefits of keeping them is that sometimes you realize that three or four of your individual ideas would really work well together, and you can end up with a rather well fleshed out story idea that seems to just sneak up on you.

As for working on more than one thing at a time, kudos to those who can write more than one piece of fiction at a go. If I try to, the "flavors" tend to mix, and things don't go quite like I want them too. However, when I am working on fiction (especially long fiction) I always have two or three non-fiction pieces in the works at the same time. It keeps me from sitting at the computer and stagnating when I hit a slump in the fiction, and many times, the non-fiction itself will spark inspiration.

[Nateskate]

My suggestion is keep notebooks for your stories. If you work on one at a time, you are more likely to finish it.

The fear is losing ideas. I've tried working on several at a time, including a trilogy, but it was too difficult.

It depends on your self discipline and how you stay motivated. I'm a momentum writer. That means that when I feel the momentum, I don't want to put the proverbial pen down. If I do, then I don't want to pick it back up.

If you have too many projects at a time, the risk is that you may lose momentum and the inspiration to finsh the ones you started, and you may be left with ten partially completed stories.

If you simply write ideas and names into a notebook, you'll be able to jar your memories when you have free time to work.

Another trick though, was that I have a work computer and a home computer. For a time I worked on one project at home and the other at work, and that wasn't overwhelming.

[jdkiggins]

Tasha,

You have to do what is comfortable for you.

I found I work on too many things at once and need to concentrate on priorities. I can't say I listen to myself all the time; right now I'm editing three novels in three different genres, and all three are priority. But three things at once is the limit for me. Even that is overwhelming at times. :) I sometimes have to get the :whip: out and jump start my day.

You'll figure out how much torture you want to put yourself through. :)

Joanne

[Jamesaritchie]

My suggestion is keep notebooks for your stories. If you work on one at a time, you are more likely to finish it.

The fear is losing ideas. I've tried working on several at a time, including a trilogy, but it was too difficult.

It depends on your self discipline and how you stay motivated. I'm a momentum writer. That means that when I feel the momentum, I don't want to put the proverbial pen down. If I do, then I don't want to pick it back up.

If you have too many projects at a time, the risk is that you may lose momentum and the inspiration to finsh the ones you started, and you may be left with ten partially completed stories.

If you simply write ideas and names into a notebook, you'll be able to jar your memories when you have free time to work.

Another trick though, was that I have a work computer and a home computer. For a time I worked on one project at home and the other at work, and that wasn't overwhelming.

I've always thought losing ideas was a good and sought after thing. It is for me. If I forget an idea, I can be pretty certain it wasn't worth remembering. The ones I write about are the ones I can't forget, even when I try.

I do think working in different environments can be useful. One novel at work, one at home.

[Mistook]

There are some ideas from ten years ago, and some from twenty that I still remember. I think James is right, the good ones don't go away. Perhaps you may really forget about a real gem once in a while, but I've had it happen where these things come back to you out of the clear blue when you need them.


As an analogy, I always thought of myself as having a bad memory for numbers, and used to write them down and refer to them when I needed them. At one point I moved and lost the book I'd been keeping my numbers in. Some I forgot, but I found that the important ones were stuck in my head. I began to trust my ability to memorize important info.

Today I can rattle off my SSN, my drivers license number, bank account number, two very long computer passwords, and three access codes that I use at work. The important stuff stays.

[pdr]

Just be sure, Tasha, that these new ideas don't only occur when you are writing the WIP, physically sitting down BIC as Uncle Jim says. If they do it's usually one of those nasty tricks your mind plays to distract you from working. A sort of: "Look at this! Isn't it better than that boring old thing you're trying to write?" shout. Give your WIP its full two hours before you succumb.

[BradyH1861]

Tasha,

I wish I had a problem with too many ideas! Lately, I have problem enough finding one!


:Shrug:


Brady H.

[E.G. Gammon]

I've been developing a novel series for the past 7 years (it was my first project), and through those 7 years, I have started other projects or had ideas for some. What works for me is I focus on my novel series, and if I suddenly get an idea that goes with another one of my WIPs, I just write it down and put it off to the side. I have lots of WIPs, but I always keep one as my main project, and I work on that one the most. I'm sure all writers have lots of other ideas, not just one. It's just trying to focus on one (to get it done) that's the problem. (Even my main WIP can be compared to this problem. It's a novel SERIES, and the other day, I found myself working on a passage that will be in the 5th book, and I'm not even finished with the first one. A writer's mind is always thinking, fortunately and unfortunately).

[tjwriter]

I also have many ideas running through my head. I write them down as best I can, and leave them as I work on my main WIP. Sometimes they work on themselves in the back of my mind and I try to capture those ideas as well.

My main focus is the WIP and I work hard to avoid distractions, other story ideas, and the incessant urge to go back and edit the beginning to be more consistent with the story's current path. I just need to write.

If other ideas are important enough to become their own stories, they will still be there.

[SRHowen]

I'm working on 3 novels right now. And one short work that I hope to have ready to send out soon

On the idea that other ideas will wait--not for me, my brain tries to continue the ideas and if I don't write them down ---POOF gone baby gone.

Shawn

[Diviner]

I am working on four novels right now, but it is really a series of three and a stand alone that is quite different. I enjoy switching back and forth. One is in the editing stage, but as I work on volumes 2 and 3, I need to go back into volume 1 and change things. I like the fluidity of not having finished the editing.

The stand alone has some structural problems that I keep playing with. It is helpful to let it sit for a week or two and come back to it with fresh eyes. If I were under contract I could not work this way, but that is not a problem.

I also have a file of story starts. I have learned that ideas bug me, clog my progress if I don't deal with them. Good ideas do return, but equally good ideas get lost. Just because an idea has no more substance than a soap bubble does not mean it has no beauty and is not the germ for a good story.

I always think of the tragedy of the man from Porlock who cut off Coleridge when he started Kublai Khan. Maybe it was only an opium dream, but what a magic picture he started to paint. I have always wanted to know how the story came out. The words and images still haunt me. I am not a memorizer of poems, but who could forget:

"In Xanadu did Kubli Khan a mighty pleasure dome decree,
Where Alf the sacred river ran down to the sunless sea."

No, I keep track of my soap bubbles.

[TashaGoddard]

I've always thought losing ideas was a good and sought after thing. It is for me. If I forget an idea, I can be pretty certain it wasn't worth remembering. The ones I write about are the ones I can't forget, even when I try.
There are some ideas from ten years ago, and some from twenty that I still remember. I think James is right, the good ones don't go away. Perhaps you may really forget about a real gem once in a while, but I've had it happen where these things come back to you out of the clear blue when you need them.
It's certainly true that the good ideas are the ones that stick there (at least, hopefully they are the good ideas). The overall ideas for books do stick in my head, and I really don't need to write them down. The problem is more that scenes, twists and the like for these books spring to mind. One of the ones that is clamouring to get out at the moment is for an idea I first had about 7 years ago. I never wrote anything down, not even the general idea, but it's still hovering in my head. I think this is probably a strong indication that it will get written one day.
Just be sure, Tasha, that these new ideas don't only occur when you are writing the WIP, physically sitting down BIC as Uncle Jim says.
They don't, no. They happen while I'm watching TV, working, lying in the bath, walking to the shop... When I sit down to write the WIP, I do write the WIP - my main problem there is that I have to stop to go deal with other responsibilities, when all I want to do is just sit there writing for ever.
My suggestion is keep notebooks for your stories.
That sounds like a really good idea. I was thinking of keeping a computer file for each one, but I think if it's on the computer, it might be too tempting to forget the WIP and go work on another one instead. Using notebooks would keep them in a different realm - i.e. notebook = future work; computer = WIP - when the first draft of the WIP is done and ready to simmer for a while without my attention, one of the notebooks can become the next WIP and hopefully there will be a bunch of scenes and notes in there that can be wrestled into some kind of actual story. I like this idea a lot and am going to buy some notebooks when I go to the shop later.
Another trick though, was that I have a work computer and a home computer. For a time I worked on one project at home and the other at work, and that wasn't overwhelming.
I do think working in different environments can be useful. One novel at work, one at home.
Unfortunately, that's not going to work for me, as work is home and home is work (I work from home). I am hoping one day soon to find myself a cheap old laptop, so that I can have better separation of work and writing - maybe then that strategy could come into play.

Thanks again, guys. This is all very helpful. Hopefully one day you'll get to see some evidence of all the advice and tips having worked!

[maestrowork]

File your ideas away. Don't lose them.

Then focus on one or two (maybe 3 if you can handle it) projects only. Finish what you started. You know, it's great that you have 30 ideas right now -- if you write one book a year, that's 30 years' worth of material -- congrats, you have a career in the making. But you won't have a "career" if you don't finish at least one.

Finish what you started. That's the most important thing.

[SRHowen]

LOL

Well, I have 7 completed novels, so think I am good there. And I have always worked on more than one. Get stuck. Move to a different one, then back to the other and I am good to go.

Shawn

[kdfrawg]

As a lot of us have said, this is more a matter of how each individual writer works rather than what is "possible". I think every fiction idea I have ever had has rolled around in my head for a while polishing itself as a background task. When my head goes "ding" and a more polished version emerges, I look at it.

If it has a really good opening scene, a few excellent characters, and a perplexing problem from which a protagonist needs relief, I start a Word file for it. If it doesn't meet that minimum, I return it to backgound, unconscious status. A lot of ideas are polished into nothingness back there because they lack enough substance to survice. A lot of others are never get through my "stupid filter."

The ones that make it to a Word file are those upon which I actively work. I continue to polish them actively until a have what I consider an excellent starting place for a novel. Most of the ones that get that far make it, although I have lost a very few.

The timing of all this revolves around my unconscious, where the initial polishing takes place. I always have at least one novel in progress. When things pop out all at once, I have more. At this particular instant I have three novels in progress, one rewrite in progress, and am writing one non-fiction book.

But by the time it gets this far, it's easy. I just open the file and the characters do what they do. If they do it right, I have a good book. If they become dull along the way, I'll usually try at least one rewrite, remembering where the characters led me wrong before.

Ideas I have aplenty. Really good ideas to work with are fewer and farther between, and thus are incredibly precious.

[mistri]

I'm probably just repeating others, but this is how I deal with idea-overload.

First, I like to have several things on the go, but the only way I can make any progress is to have one 'main' idea. For example, at the moment I'm working on one novel WIP that I have a set word count for each day. Once that word count is met I can write on whatever I want, but by that point I'm normally happy to let myself continue as I'll be in the mood for it by that point.

Otherwise, I only stray if I'm feeling blocked, and I'll write on something else until my er, juices are flowing again. I have an ideas folder for those things that pop into mind and won't go away until they're written down, but I tend not to do anything with them until I've finished something else and have time to explore the idea fully.

[novelator]

It's always been my experience that in order to get the ideas to leave me alone, I have to write them down. Then they're quite content to patiently wait for me to get to them. Technically, they're works in progress, I guess, since they usually amount to an opening scene. I stash them as separate files with Opening in the file name so they don't get lost in my Word files, usually followed by a rudimentary working title. Then when I finish one, I start the next one.

I've found I'm just not at best in revision if I don't have something new cooking on another burner at the same time.

Mari

[black winged fighter]

When I first started writing, I only had one story going. (That died, thankfully...) I then entered a period of chaos where I shook out about twenty story beginnings. Slowly, I found my style of writing and story development, and these days I work on about three novels at a time. It gives me a convenient way to break The Block; I just switch to another story.

What I learned from this was that it takes time to find your point of equilibrium, the place where you can balance your ideas well. This doesn't work for everyone, however; I know a girl that works on about ten stories at a time, and she makes it work.

On the other hand, I've never really been able to use a notebook for ideas and such. I let them roll about in my head for a while and grow smoother before I type them down, but if I write them in a notebook, the appeal quickly vanishes for me.

To each their own, I suppose...

[Sunny7L]

I'm also working on one specific novel but have some future projects that I want to develop and sometimes my attention is diverted to one of the other stories. I've learned to let it, I don't want to lose that moment, that idea. I just have to force myself not to elaborate, too much.

[Thekherham]

I have a lot of pots cooking on the stove. A while back I took an inventory of all the stories/novels I've written so ar and the number was nineteen, of which ten were incomplete, and the others all needed some form of editing.

I've made a promise to myself not to start anything new until I've finished one of the 19 I've done so far.

Of course there are all those ideas in my head. Some want to stick there, and others may float away after a while.

[Darkhaven80]

I wish I had your problem! I get small tidbits of ideas but it's like drawing blood to get them organized.

[Mistook]

My WIP started simple, then began to get more complicated as new characters and sub-plots came to me. Now it's evolved into about five distinct "parts" each of which is a short story of it's own, but they all take place in the same town, share characters, and refer to info that has come out in other parts.

What once I envisioned as being entitled "The Lost City"

may end up as "Tales from the Lost City"

And if I'm not careful, these "Parts" might each become their own separate novels, though I'm trying to prevent that from happening.

Meanwhile, there are two other novels simmering in my brain, trying to write themselves without my permission.