• Read this: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?288931-Guidelines-for-Participation-in-Outwitting-Writer-s-Block

    before you post.

Will I ever love anything as much as my first idea?

The Second Moon

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
3,393
Reaction score
355
Website
mimistromauthor.com
I'm writing a 16-book short story collection series called The Barney and Mr. Thomas Series , but whenever I get another I idea that is interesting, I always end up comparing it to Barney and Mr. Thomas. I always ditch the new idea because it won't compare to Barney and Mr. Thomas.

I LOVE Barney and Mr. Thomas. The characters are real to me. They make me laugh, cry, smile, break down... No other idea has ever done this to me. I need them!

What I want to know is will I love anything like Barney and Mr. Thomas. Should I just give up on finding other ideas?

What are your words of wisdom? Have you ever been through this? Do you love all your ideas the same?
 

KBooks

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
448
Reaction score
108
I wonder if you feel this way because you're not done yet in your world? I find characters keep speaking to me as long as they have a story to tell, and then when they're done, kind of go quiet.

So maybe when Barney and Mr. Thomas have finished their short story collection, new characters will fill your head and you'll adore them just as much!
 
  • Love
Reactions: Elenitsa

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
14,536
Reaction score
24,104
Location
Massachusetts
Website
elizabethbonesteel.com
I can't write something if I don't love it.

That said, I have three books out in an ongoing series. I have at least two more of those to write. I've written a standalone and have ideas for others, but the series is always there.

I think KBooks makes a good point: it's hard to move on when you're not finished. Write what makes you happy.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Elenitsa

Introversion

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 17, 2013
Messages
10,643
Reaction score
14,867
Location
Massachusetts
What I want to know is will I love anything like Barney and Mr. Thomas. Should I just give up on finding other ideas?

I've loved every story I've finished. I love them for different reasons. I can't rank them; "most loved" to "least loved". They're all different. Some have characters that resonated strongly with me, and I might revisit them. Some have plots that I thought worked well. Some of them percolated in my head for years before I tried writing them.

I don't believe we're born with a fixed allotment of ideas or characters in us. We learn, we live, things happen and spark new ideas or characters. Will you love new ideas as much as "Barney and Mr. Thomas"? I think a better question is, will you love any new ideas? I'd be really surprised if that's not a strong "yes". If you're passionate for the current work, you'll almost certainly be passionate for others in the future.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Elenitsa

Paul Lamb

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
550
Reaction score
417
Location
American Midwest
Website
www.paullamb.wordpress.com
It doesn't have to be all or nothing. It's clear that your "Barney" stories/universe has gripped you in that wonderful embrace we all strive for. Make the most of it.

But is there any space in your creativity for other, lesser works? Could you use a pen name to write these other ideas? Could you become the writer who produces the "Barney" stories and a different writer who produces these other stories too? Write one group in the morning and the other in the evening? Or only on weekends?

I use three pen names since the stuff I writer is in three different genres. I sort of compartmentalize and just go with the flow.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa

The Second Moon

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
3,393
Reaction score
355
Website
mimistromauthor.com
Last night I remembered that I have had an old idea that I did love as much as Barney and Mr. Thomas and it makes me feel the same way Barney and Mr. Thomas does.

Thank you for all your words of wisdom everyone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa and KBooks

SnugglePuggle

Banned
Joined
Oct 29, 2019
Messages
111
Reaction score
3
I feel you, @The Second Moon. I love my characters so much in my vampire series. It hurts to think I'll one day be done with them. But what keeps me going is the idea that maybe I can revisit them later, after my brain has a chance to rest before thinking up some new ideas :)
 

The Second Moon

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
3,393
Reaction score
355
Website
mimistromauthor.com
I feel you, @The Second Moon. I love my characters so much in my vampire series. It hurts to think I'll one day be done with them. But what keeps me going is the idea that maybe I can revisit them later, after my brain has a chance to rest before thinking up some new ideas :)

:Hug2: That's all I can say, since I feel your pain. :Hug2: As I've mentioned before in a different thread, SnugglePuggle, I have sixteen books in the Barney and Mr. Thomas series, but I didn't think of them all in a day. It took me a year and a half to do that. In other words, I think your plan of giving your brain a chance to brew up more idea is brilliant.

Also, I realized that I'm not ready for the idea I loved as much as Barney and Mr. Thomas. It's a very deep YA and I'm not mature enough as a person or a writer for it yet, so I'll keep writing Barney and Mr. Thomas in the mean time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa

gothicangel

Toughen up.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
7,907
Reaction score
691
Location
North of the Wall
Trust me. You will come up with other ideas which you'll love just as much. Enjoy the moment with your current characters :).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa

starrystorm

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2018
Messages
2,987
Reaction score
605
Age
24
My advice is: you don't have to love it as much as your first or more, you just have to love it in general.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa

Cephus

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 1, 2018
Messages
259
Reaction score
66
Honestly, I don't even remember my first idea. Whatever you're working on right now is going to be the best idea ever, otherwise you wouldn't be writing it. Once you move on to something else, that will become the best thing you've ever worked on. It's how writing works.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa

ReadTread

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 17, 2023
Messages
85
Reaction score
79
Location
Right now? In the bed.
I kind of doubt I'll love any other project or characters like my first ones. But then I remind myself, they're kind of still with me. It's nuts, but it's true. Like, their *story* ended, but I still get to think about their lives that happened after the events in the main story, or how they would react to things or what advice they'd give. Or what they're like as they get older, sort of in a "What would they be doing now?" kind of way. Knowing they're "still there" frees me up to branch out and play with new ideas, even if it's more of an intellectual exercise than a deeply felt on (at least at this point).
 
  • Love
Reactions: Elenitsa

Pragmatic Idealist

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 29, 2023
Messages
58
Reaction score
71
Age
68
Generally I love my idea all through the process of writing an essay or story then, a couple hours after I'm done, I begin to hate it with a burning passion.
 

Maryn

Sees All
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
55,446
Reaction score
25,466
Location
Snow Cave
Psst! This thread has been necroed, brought back from the dead. We try not to do that with threads that are not timeless, like posts on one's experience with a particular agent or publisher, how to punctuate dialogue, recipes for soup, or the career of your favorite musician.

See the fourth item in Ten Tips for Newbies. It's on the FAQs board, which we ask new arrivals to read. Many apparently skip it--do they fear it's legal mumbo-jumbo like Terms and Conditions? Because it isn't. It's tips for what will get you up to speed and fitting right in without making a single misstep.

Nobody's in trouble for necroing, but please try not to do it in the future.

Maryn, with yet another public service announcement