How to Decide What Book to Work On?

Liosse de Velishaf · Dec 25, 2012

The following is a pic of my projects folder:

The folders have more than one story generally, and some of the doc files are for series. Overall that's probably already more stories than I could write in two lifetimes. And every time I think I've picked something to work on, I get a new idea or a brilliant change for an old one.

How do you guys pick what to work on out of all your ideas and stay with it until it's done? 'Cause at the moment I just can't seem to manage that.

Kerosene · Dec 25, 2012

That's right, people don't normally bury their work...

Oh! The question. Right... work on the one with the greatest weakness. Fix the chain. The structure falls if one support crumbles. Perfect. Perfect! Perfect! Kill the infidel! The motherland! The motherland!

Wait! Wait! Wait!

Give me a minute... *Collects himself*

Ok. I work on one project at a time while the others are resting, or when I need time to think them through. So I'm on Advent because I need to rewrite it, while Book 3 is on "thinking and plotting mode" and LifeFire is being prepared for revision. After Advent, I'll return to Book 3 to finish it, then go to LifeFire while Book 3 is in for revision. Hopefully, by that point, I'll be querying Advent and won't need to worry about it for a time. Then I'll start writing Book 4. *Fingers pointing everywhere*

In your position, I would look at what you want to work on. Not every story needs to be perfected, so choose one that you have a deep connection to--a connection that'll lead you through the revision process.

(You could have asked a mod to move the thread)

Chris P · Dec 25, 2012

I'm going to disagree with working on the one with the greatest weakness. Unless I misunderstood (which is highly likely), when I do that I end up with 30 stories, none of them finished. I tend to work on the one I have the most ideas for, until I can see the light and the end and I push hard to get that one done.

Finish two before starting one. That gets my pile down, and sometimes I have to force ideas to the back in order to do that.

Liosse de Velishaf · Dec 25, 2012

WillSauger said:
That's right, people don't normally bury their work...

Oh! The question. Right... work on the one with the greatest weakness. Fix the chain. The structure falls if one support crumbles. Perfect. Perfect! Perfect! Kill the infidel! The motherland! The motherland!

Wait! Wait! Wait!

Give me a minute... *Collects himself*

Ok. I work on one project at a time while the others are resting, or when I need time to think them through. So I'm on Advent because I need to rewrite it, while Book 3 is on "thinking and plotting mode" and LifeFire is being prepared for revision. After Advent, I'll return to Book 3 to finish it, then go to LifeFire while Book 3 is in for revision. Hopefully, by that point, I'll be querying Advent and won't need to worry about it for a time. Then I'll start writing Book 4. *Fingers pointing everywhere*

In your position, I would look at what you want to work on. Not every story needs to be perfected, so choose one that you have a deep connection to--a connection that'll lead you through the revision process.

(You could have asked a mod to move the thread)

That would have been the smart move. But at 4:00 AM on Christmas morning, I admit my thinking isn't too straight. XD

I think I have writing ADD. It's really hard to keep focused on one project. I think two of those stories in that folder have finished rough drafts currently. XD

Chris P said:
I'm going to disagree with working on the one with the greatest weakness. Unless I misunderstood (which is highly likely), when I do that I end up with 30 stories, none of them finished. I tend to work on the one I have the most ideas for, until I can see the light and the end and I push hard to get that one done.

Finish two before starting one. That gets my pile down, and sometimes I have to force ideas to the back in order to do that.

That's what I feel like I should be doing...

Kerosene · Dec 25, 2012

Chris P said:
I'm going to disagree with working on the one with the greatest weakness. Unless I misunderstood (which is highly likely),
Finish two before starting one. That gets my pile down, and sometimes I have to force ideas to the back in order to do that.

Misunderstanding... kinda. The joke was a bit odd.

In a project, as in a trilogy or series, the weakest link might be the best to attack first.

But with a large 'incomplete' folder, that's just hard. I'd have to agree with finishing, or burying a project. Label it done in someway and either publish it or just forget about it. Deem things unworthy or worthy.

The only project I will ever be working on in the future is my current series. Everything else has been buried in the documents folder and will never see the light of day again.
And I do hope that I push out my series. If I don't, I'll start planning a funeral.

10trackers · Dec 25, 2012

As you probably already know, I kind of have the same problem, Liosse

What works for me, is working on several at the same time. I get stuck a lot, because I haven't mastered the art of letting the first draft be as crappy as it wants yet. So when I don't have the right line at the right time, I switch to another WIP. On bad days, I use random.org to decide which WIP to write, on good days I just pick the one that speaks to me most. There's always a story at the forefront of my mind, but not always the same one.

May the Force guide you

Liosse de Velishaf · Dec 25, 2012

10trackers said:
As you probably already know, I kind of have the same problem, Liosse

What works for me, is working on several at the same time. I get stuck a lot, because I haven't mastered the art of letting the first draft be as crappy as it wants yet. So when I don't have the right line at the right time, I switch to another WIP. On bad days, I use random.org to decide which WIP to write, on good days I just pick the one that speaks to me most. There's always a story at the forefront of my mind, but not always the same one.

May the Force guide you

Heh. Random.org. Sounds useful. I can rarely keep a single story at the forefront of my mind for very long. If I could even knock it down to five that had my interest, then switching between the might work pretty well.

Michael Davis · Dec 25, 2012

When ever I have solitude (waiting to fall asleep, sitting outside a store waiting on my wife, etc) my mind wanders naturally to one of several stories and evolves the scenes and plot line. I say naturally because I don't control my muse, rather she controls me. When its right, she decides should we advance, finish, or ferment a story. I had one political thriller (RIGHTEOUS FURY) I worked on and off for three years and it just hit the stores this October. During that time I finished and had released three other novels. Just took a while for it to ripen. I read somewhere Avatar took over a decade to finish. My point, takes what it takes and ya work on it when you get the itch, otherwise you won't enjoy it near as much, IMO.

10trackers · Dec 25, 2012

Liosse de Velishaf said:
Heh. Random.org. Sounds useful. I can rarely keep a single story at the forefront of my mind for very long. If I could even knock it down to five that had my interest, then switching between the might work pretty well.

Hit me with descriptions and I will decide for you

Hooow about you think about one story while in bed, before falling asleep, and you map out in your mind where you want it to go next? Random.org is also helpful when trying to determine which story to write

But seriously. If you write out all your WIPs in a list, which ones appeal to you the most? You could assign them a number from 1-10 (10 being the most awesome, NATURALLY

), without thinking too much about it, and then work on the ones with the highest ratings?

Liosse de Velishaf · Dec 25, 2012

10trackers said:
Hit me with descriptions and I will decide for you

Hooow about you think about one story while in bed, before falling asleep, and you map out in your mind where you want it to go next? Random.org is also helpful when trying to determine which story to write

But seriously. If you write out all your WIPs in a list, which ones appeal to you the most? You could assign them a number from 1-10 (10 being the most awesome, NATURALLY ), without thinking too much about it, and then work on the ones with the highest ratings?

There are a few that are on my mind more than others. For example, the first story I ever made serious draft progress on is what inspired this thread. I just realized how the main MC's character arc has to go, and bam! I was caught up in that story again, even though I started it like 7 years ago.

I'll give your listing technique a shot. If nothing else, it should help me identify the stories that currently hold my interest the most.

(It's hard to pick, since they're all over the genre spectrum...)

Susan Coffin · Dec 25, 2012

1. Complete the story that is most finished.

2. Edit it to pristine condition, and get it out on submission, whether it be to an agent or a magazine.

3. While waiting for an agent or magazine to bite, start working on the
next story that is most finished.

I'd do this with each short story. By the time you finish the novels, you might end up already have an agent.

Never know.

ChristinaLayton · Dec 25, 2012

Work on the one that has the most words so you can finish it and get it out of the way.

Every time you get an idea for a different story, instead of adding to that story, write down the ideas on a separate document titled, "Ideas for (Name of Story)" and continue on working on the last story you worked on. That's usually what i do when my ideas are not right next to the last chapter I wrote, and then I continue the story from where I left off. I have those 'ideas' documents organized on a folder named, "Random." Then when it's time to start working on those stories I go to the ideas document. Hope that helps.

Chris.

Wardeth · Dec 25, 2012

Before you try to finish one, maybe ask yourself why you started something new? I look at your folder and it reminds me of when i was a child playing with lego's. I never knew what i wanted to build and i couldn't dismantle anything once i had started it. I ended up running out of lego's all the time... it was really frustrating.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 25, 2012

Doesn't look like you want to work on anything except ideas. "What book" is fine, if you have two, or may three, tops, to pick between, but when you have a folder like that, it becomes "How do I avoid working on anything".

I'd say delete the whole damned folder and start over.

rwm4768 · Dec 25, 2012

I don't have any advice, but that looks a lot like my projects folder. I get so many ideas, but most of them don't ever get past the idea stage. I, too, have trouble figuring out which ideas to pursue.

VoireyLinger · Dec 25, 2012

I have a file that looks about like that. I don't look at it. I work on whatever I feel I can finish quickest... because finished equals money and I'm superficial and mercenary like that.

Pick three, put them in an active folder and hide the rest. No peeking at the other ideas until you finish something.

SianaBlackwood · Dec 26, 2012

Having just dragged myself out of a similar problem, I have the following suggestion:

Write the story that haunts you. Write about the character who speaks in his/her own voice. The only story that matters is the one you love enough to put pieces of your own soul into it.

You might not feel like it right now, but one or two of those projects matter to you more than the others. There's one character in there who you find a little easier to write about. Find him or her and write that story.

max929 · Dec 26, 2012

Liosse de Velishaf said:
The following is a pic of my projects folder:

The folders have more than one story generally, and some of the doc files are for series. Overall that's probably already more stories than I could write in two lifetimes. And every time I think I've picked something to work on, I get a new idea or a brilliant change for an old one.

How do you guys pick what to work on out of all your ideas and stay with it until it's done? 'Cause at the moment I just can't seem to manage that.

If you need to differentiate, work on the most marketable one. Get a fat pay day, than go back to one that maybe more risky. IDK, I am just trying to provide you w/some external, measurable parameters to help quantify the cost/benefit analysis...this advise is completely void of anything resembling passion.

wampuscat · Jan 3, 2013

I'm late to the party here, but are there any of your ideas/characters/themes/plots that could be combined? Just a thought. I have a similar list of story ideas, though they're all put aside in the "random" folder. I've got five WIPs now that get their own folders, but two are essentially trunked, one is marinating in revision goo, and the other two vie for my attention. The second is slowly killing the first off.

Anna Spargo-Ryan · Jan 3, 2013

The very first thing I would do is hide some of those files. Even looking at that list would break my spirit. Maybe take the ones that have been dormant for more than 6 months and pop those in a separate folder.

Then I would work on the one that's closest to being finished. In my experience the best thing you can do to help with your motivation to write is to finish something.

Or as max929 says, focus on the one that's most marketable. Or combine some of them, if there are common themes.

dontpanic · Jan 3, 2013

I mostly work on them in the order that I get the initial spark of an idea, but sometimes projects naturally follow on from each other from where I am in my life or how I feel as a writer.

I've got seven projects, not including my collection of short pieces, and two of those are completed. The first was an idea that surfaced six years ago, then the next one that began just two years ago. Some of my other WIPs have been started between six years ago to last week, the one I'm working on at the moment is for my creative writing group project that I started over Christmas.

I used to be awful at not completing things, but I think as long as I'm always working on something it's fine. I'm good at staying focused, but I won't ignore new ideas that arrive, but put them aside for another day. There just simply aren't enough hours.

Animad345 · Jan 4, 2013

Pick the one you feel most passionate about. The one with characters you feel you know the best. The one which you're excited about working on. You can't write good fiction if you're not enjoying the process!

Bushrat · Jan 4, 2013

Jamesaritchie said:
Doesn't look like you want to work on anything except ideas. "What book" is fine, if you have two, or may three, tops, to pick between, but when you have a folder like that, it becomes "How do I avoid working on anything".

That's the impression I'm getting. Being a writer means finishing a story. Not only that, after you finish it, you'll get to spend some more time editing it.
I think it's absolutely crucial to improving your craft that you make yourself sit down and finish what you started. Work on that story arch, the conflict and character growth, and don't chicken out when you come to a plot hole or sagging tension by fluttering off to new ideas.

Yes, it's work, and just letting yourself be carried away by the rush of a new idea might be more fun. But if you ever want to move on from having a gazillion folders full of ideas that don't seem to be able to hold your interest in the long run to having a finished, engaging, and well-written manuscript, there's no way around good ole discipline. Get off the speed dating thing and pick the one character you can see yourself spending at least a year with. Apply bum to chair, hands to keyboard and follow that story through to the end. Edit it. Finish.

DragonHeart · Jan 4, 2013

Well the snowball method was designed for paying off debt, but I think it would work well here too.

Go through and list all of your stories in order of how close they are to being completed, with the closest at the top. Then open the one at the top of the list and start working on it. When it's finished, cross it off the list and start working on the next one. Repeat until the list is empty, then start one new project. Finish it before you begin another.

If you absolutely must, keep a document for spare notes and ideas for other stories, but do nothing with it until your project queue is empty.

That's if you plan on finishing every single item in that folder, of course. You could also sort them out and anything you're not sure of or don't like anymore, make a junk file to throw them all in if you can't bring yourself to delete outright.

bearilou · Jan 5, 2013

Jamesaritchie said:
I'd say delete the whole damned folder and start over.

*breathes into a bag at the thought of deleting all of that*

Echoing the advice to work on the one closest to being finished first and working backwards to the next closest, etc.

How to Decide What Book to Work On?

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