Can't Decide Which Project To Work On!

I just sketch out the acts and scenes I want for each idea on paper, then try to pick the one that is either fleshed out enough or the most exciting to me. If they're all equally filled in I start with the shortest project. You can always flesh out the other projects more while you're writing the short one, and you'll have a better idea of which one you want to do next.

Eyes closed and pick one?

Just stop thinking of more idea's and concentrate on working out the ones you already have.. At least when I'm starting a project I just focus on that one and don't start thinking up even more idea's...

Write the one that appeals the most to you right now and if they all do.. you have a problem

My standard advice in these situations goes like this:

1. Write a 'blurb' and/or synopsis for each project.
2. Eliminate any projects that didn't seem so exciting after step 1.
3. Number the surviving projects 1 to whatever
4. Generate a random number in that range by whatever means you prefer.
5. Start working on the project you wish randomness had picked.

Stop at any point where the choice of next project becomes inevitable.

I know the feeling. I've got four lined up right now. Could be five if the one I abandoned a couple months back comes out of its coma.

Blurbs and synopses are fine for a plotter, but what does a pantser do?

Here's what I do: pick one and start writing. If I hit a wall, I work on another one. Repeat as needed. You'll find some ideas you don't want to touch after all and some you can't stay away from. These are the ones you concentrate on. Sooner or later one of them is bound to come out the winner.

Eventually something -- maybe a couple of somethings -- will get done. Or maybe none of them will, if your brain does what mine does and tosses a whole new idea at you because it's bored. But the words are flowing and you're practicing your craft. That's the important thing.

I recently found a way that works best for me. I outline each idea and see which idea is the most fleshed out when I do a basic outline. The one with the most specific ideas/information is the one I start off with.

7-8 sounds like a lot more than I ever allow myself to think up. I usually have 2-3 and choose from those. But advice given to me in the past has served me well. Write the story that needs to be told the most. Meaning, write the one that is speaking to you, tugging at your inner-most being at the moment. If you don't have that story as one of the seven, then perhaps none of them are the right one. You need to feel passionate about it enough to put off your other ideas for a while. Unless you can somehow focus on several projects at once. I know some can. But, don't just flip a coin or inne meanie minnie moe to your answer. Wait until you know which one is the right one.

Write down the name son slips of paper. Drop them in a jar. Close your eyes and draw one out.

Just don't use any of this as an excuse for not writing. Most writers have a hundred ideas for novels. You just pick one, and stick with it.

Divide the projects by approximate difficulty and length. Start with the easiest and fastest ones. Work way up to longer, more difficult ones. By the time you reach the difficult ones--you're actually ready to write them.

Pick your two favourites and work on both of them. That's what I do. It propels me forward to have two different worlds to slip into.


Best of luck!
Kevin

I usually have two pieces going at once. I find that I get kind of bored writing just one, or I'll see something that influences me to work on one over the other. I don't know how many pokers you have in your barrel but maybe you could multi-task? Best of luck! =0)

SianaBlackwood said:

My standard advice in these situations goes like this:

1. Write a 'blurb' and/or synopsis for each project.
2. Eliminate any projects that didn't seem so exciting after step 1.
3. Number the surviving projects 1 to whatever
4. Generate a random number in that range by whatever means you prefer.
5. Start working on the project you wish randomness had picked.

Stop at any point where the choice of next project becomes inevitable.

Click to expand...

I like this one. It's pretty much what I do. I have some projects which have been hanging around for years, some even written but it's a completely new one which I'm working on at the moment.

CallyW said:

I like this one. It's pretty much what I do. I have some projects which have been hanging around for years, some even written but it's a completely new one which I'm working on at the moment.

Click to expand...

It's said that when wrestling with a choice, you should flip a coin. Not because it makes the decision for you, but because the instant that it's in the air, you know what you want the result to be.

You were given a lot of good advice here, no wonder you found a solution to your problem.

I might add my own view:

Firstly, I AM working in many ideas at the time and I just realized my method is a little bit off the norm.
I do outline, I do pants, but in a different way.
I Just write when I feel like it, and I don't outline full books but I have my unit, which is the chapter, and I outline them as a sitcom - a succession of "local" occurrences.
As a pants I do either fill the occurrences outline or work my favorite: Characters introspective world.

Usually, the story writes itself, having the characters well defined, and the situations outlined, the chapters led me to an end without much of a effort.

I hope this is helpful for anyone.

I also try to look at the current market. I know writing a book can take a long time, easily over a year, but I like to see how things are changing. if my book seems to slot into the current market or, even better, has a slight spin on what's popular at the moment, I sometimes go with that.
But, to be honest, I usually ignore this and just write what I like the best. If I can't decide, I just start writing both (or all eight in your case! You're lucky to have so many ideas ). I give myself one hour for each story to write as much as I can. Usually by the end of this I'll know which is 'the one'

SianaBlackwood said:

My standard advice in these situations goes like this:

1. Write a 'blurb' and/or synopsis for each project.
2. Eliminate any projects that didn't seem so exciting after step 1.
3. Number the surviving projects 1 to whatever
4. Generate a random number in that range by whatever means you prefer.
5. Start working on the project you wish randomness had picked.

Stop at any point where the choice of next project becomes inevitable.

Click to expand...

This x100.

I like the randomness one- definitely. Otherwise, :

(Always wanted to use that smiley... I finally did!)

I admire you guys that can work on more than two projects at the same time! I already struggle with one many times, let alone seven or eight!

Wish you the best of luck with whichever you decide to take forward.

I surely liked all the advice given here. I might give it a try if the time comes for me although I highly doubt it. My imagination is not as rich as it used to be...

I'm working on two projects at the moment because of this situation. I have one as my "main" novel and the other one on the backburner. My main gets 2000 words a day at least in the mornings, while my backburner gets 1000 in the evening. If I feel I want to plow ahead with the main or just don't have enough energy I give the backburner a rest for the day without feeling guilty about it.

I feel like I'll probably stick with this method moving forward.

With myself, I am recently starting to priortize myself better, I have two projects I am working on also, I also have a document where I keep a list of ideas therefore I don't have a list of too many incompletes. My primary project I've been working on for five years, the other about two years, and I am trying to stop procrastinating, giving myself four hours a day, two hours for each, 1000 words each.