Multiple Story ideas

It's a writer thing, Corey. In some circles they're called 'plotbunnies', because the silly things seem to breed when we're not looking at them. Celebrate the fact that your imagination is firing on all cylinders, and write down what you can. Then walk away and pay attention to something else. Those plotbunnies will still be there for you, growing somewhere in your thoughts. When you are ready, you can work on them.

Of course, normal people call us nuts, but this is a writers' forum.

Coreyt0304 said:

Thanks. I am in the middle of a book but cant help when ideas start to flow. And was starting to think I was crazy

Click to expand...

Oh, nobody said you weren't crazy. But again, it's a writer thing. My husband keeps telling me I could probably take medication to stop the voices in my head, but then I'd have no story ideas.

Coreyt0304 said:

Thanks. I am in the middle of a book but cant help when ideas start to flow. And was starting to think I was crazy

Click to expand...

We're all mad here, friend.

But yeah, it's totally not just you. You don't want to know how long my To-Write list is.

Just be aware that bunnies (including plot bunnies) exist, and have such high reproduction rates, to feed organisms higher in the food chain. This means that only a few of that multitude of ideas will likely be developed into full length stories. So, don't let them distract you from the project (or projects) you have already shown to have that full length story potential. A writer finishes what he/she starts despite the temptations from all of those plot bunnies.

Coreyt0304 said:

Is this a writer thing or am i just weird

Click to expand...

Yes, it is a writer thing. And, yes, you are weird. But you're a writer, so that probably goes without saying.

Definitely a writer thing, but that's not to say we aren't weird too (;

I have a word document full of just random lines I thought of and want to use somewhere or another. And I have a whole folder full of ideas.

I've found that the story ideas which linger and mature are kind of like super-predators on that same food chain. They tend to absorb hapless new plotbunnies. I can judge a new idea's staying power by how well it fares against some of my old favorites.

As for your second question, that's up to you. Everyone works differently, and coping methods change over a lifetime. In my twenties I could not easily switch from one writing project to another. In my forties, I have no problem trading off between two or more stories, as long as I have the time to work on them at all. It actually helps. When I get frustrated with one story, moving to another will often jog something in my plotty little brain regarding the first story.

It's completely normal to have lots and lots of ideas. You need to learn to sort through them and find the ideas worth keeping. Start a file where you write down all your story ideas. When you're ready to start something new, browse through the file and see if anything pops out at you.

Sometimes, you can combine ideas. This can lead to some of the most imaginative stories ever! Some of the best scenes in my novels came about because I had a new idea and decided to work it into my current work-in-progress. You might have to adjust the idea to make it fit, but it's usually worth it.

Perfectly normal. I've currently got enough story ideas that are ready to outline and write to fill the rest of this year and a whole load of others that are still just germs of ideas for beyond that. Of course many of them will never come to anything, but that's fine. Generating lots of ideas is great. Lots of them will appear half-baked, lame or just all around stupid when looked at later, but that's all part of coming up with the really good ideas that will turn into good stories. And the more you write the more ideas you'll come up with, because your brain is on fire with creativity. It's making connections, getting inspired.

Just don't be one of those people who has loads of ideas and notes and never gets around to actually writing any stories (i.e. me until about 10 years ago.) Pick one of these great ideas and get to work on it if you're not already.

Coreyt0304 said:

I have lists of lines I want to use in books, different stories i want to write, and just tons of different things on a ToDo list....a To-Write list. Is this a writer thing or am i just weird

Click to expand...

It's definitely a writer thing. I did that when I first started writing, but quickly learned it's just a way of, as Stephen King puts it, "Immortalizing bad ideas."

I threw it all away, and haven't written down anything since. If something is worth using, it will stick around, and I can't forget it, even when I try.

If I do forget something, it wasn't worth remembering, and wasn't worth using.

Been there, done that. I have probably 50 or so ideas of varying quality written down, most of which will never see the light of day.

As Jamesaritchie said, if it's a good idea, it will probably stay in your head, but I like having things on paper because it feels like I'm "de-cluttering" my mind.

So yeah, it's a writer thing, and it's a little weird.

Jamesaritchie said:

If I do forget something, it wasn't worth remembering, and wasn't worth using.

Click to expand...

This isn't necessarily true for everyone. Some people just have bad memories and will forget important things, including story ideas. Sure, lots of what I write down is lousy and will never see the light of day. But plenty of my ideas are good--but if I don't write them down, I will forget, guaranteed. Heck, my memory is so bad, I can read my own stories and they seem brand new--as if I'd never read them before, never mind having written them!

Granted, my memory is exceptionally bad. But I'm sure there's others out there who feel the need to write things down, too. I can't be the only one . . . right?

My plot bunnies like to expand to be a list just a little bit larger than the paper they're written on. I thought about putting them on a poster-board sized paper, but that was a little tough to carry around with me everywhere... hey wait, is there a story there about a person who carries around large posterboard to take notes while riding the train?

Orianna2000 said:

This isn't necessarily true for everyone. Some people just have bad memories and will forget important things, including story ideas. Sure, lots of what I write down is lousy and will never see the light of day. But plenty of my ideas are good--but if I don't write them down, I will forget, guaranteed. Heck, my memory is so bad, I can read my own stories and they seem brand new--as if I'd never read them before, never mind having written them!

Granted, my memory is exceptionally bad. But I'm sure there's others out there who feel the need to write things down, too. I can't be the only one . . . right?

Click to expand...

Right. I always have to write my ideas down when I think of them because I know I'll forget them if I don't. I not only have a Word document dedicated to story ideas, I have a notebook next to my favorite chair for when I'm not on the computer, I have a travel sized notebook in my purse for when I think of stuff when I'm not at home, and if I can't get to any of those three things for some reason, I've been known to write on the inside cover of other books.

I don't forget ideas because they aren't worth remembering, I forget them because I'm so scatterbrained.

Yea it's normal for a creative type to have a head full to bursting with ideas. I know mine certainly is. I've got so many things to write or in progress it's nuts. Trying to do the outline for some things first. Get the damn things developed so they'll leave me alone for a while, and allow me and my muse to work together effectivly.

Orianna2000 said:

This isn't necessarily true for everyone. Some people just have bad memories and will forget important things, including story ideas. Sure, lots of what I write down is lousy and will never see the light of day. But plenty of my ideas are good--but if I don't write them down, I will forget, guaranteed. Heck, my memory is so bad, I can read my own stories and they seem brand new--as if I'd never read them before, never mind having written them!

Granted, my memory is exceptionally bad. But I'm sure there's others out there who feel the need to write things down, too. I can't be the only one . . . right?

Click to expand...

This works better for writers with bad memories than for writers with good memories. You'll remember the things worth remembering because you can't stop thinking about them, no matter how poor your memory is. When you think about something constantly, it sticks.

If you have a really good memory, writing things down doesn't matter because you'll remember them either way.

The whole point of this is being able to forget, not being able to remember. You should forget anything and everything that doesn't keep nagging you to death.