Category: Uncategorized

A few times lately, I’ve heard writers who’ve gotten a great idea for a story—or a fully-formed character—at an inconvenient time. Usually right when they’re in the middle of another book.

The phenomenon actually has a name: Shiny New Idea Syndrome (SNIS).

The question that comes up, of course, is whether you should continue writing the book you were working on—or whether you should start writing the new idea you’ve had…the one you’re excited about.

I’ve had this happen a couple of times in the last year—I’ve gotten ideas for new series or gotten ideas for things that wouldn’t fit in well with the current series I’m writing.

Because I’m under contract for the books I’m writing (and have already been paid for them), then I didn’t have a choice about which to write. I just spoke into a voice recorder all the ideas I had connected to the new idea and then saved it for later and continued working on the current manuscript.

But it seems to me that there are some questions to ask yourself if you’ve gotten a case of SNIS:

What’s your goal—right now—with writing? Publishing? Writing for your own enjoyment?

If you’re writing to please yourself, decide which story you think you’ll take the most pleasure in writing—is it a turbulent story that will actually be cathartic? Something light and humorous?

If you’re writing for publication, which story is more marketable?

Which story is fuller-formed and better-realized?

Which requires more research (and do you have the time to do it?)

Has this happened just because you’ve reached a difficult spot in your current manuscript? Could you jot down your idea and just brainstorm ways to work through the rough part? And remind yourself that it’s fine to write a horrible or disorganized first draft?

Could you put your current manuscript down for a couple of weeks and work on the new manuscript? You may find that the new manuscript isn’t all that exciting or that you return to the old one with fresh eyes and can easily polish off the first draft on it.

If you’re in the middle of revisions for the old manuscript, you could work on both books at once (I frequently have to do this.) That way you’re doing something creative (penning a first draft) while doing something a little more mechanical (editing/revising.)

I think the danger in putting down an unfinished manuscript is that we won’t return to it. Or that we’re setting a precedent with ourselves that it’s okay to leave a manuscript unfinished.

Have you ever been struck by Shiny New Idea Syndrome? How did you handle it?

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week.
If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a CTRL+F, type your subject, and hit enter.

Facebook: Personal vs. Professional: http://dld.bz/4Evn

Elements of a Scene: http://dld.bz/4Evb

Why Do eBooks Cost So Much? (A Publisher’s Perspective): http://dld.bz/4EuW

Blogging 101: How to Get Feed Subscribers: http://dld.bz/4EuV

How Do You Know When Your Book is Cooked? http://dld.bz/4EuR

So Your NaNoWriMo Novel Sucked–Why You Still Gained: http://dld.bz/4Eue

You Don’t Get to Choose Whether You’re a Writer: http://dld.bz/4Et7

The iPad for writers: http://dld.bz/4Etn

A tip for starting out our day–and our writing–with momentum: http://dld.bz/4MRC

Do novels need to be nice (vs. gritty?) http://dld.bz/4Etb

What your profile pic really says about you: http://dld.bz/4BKM

3 Novel-Writing Alternatives to NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/4BKq

Storyboarding on a shoestring–freebies for writers: http://dld.bz/4BKd

Writing the Story Premise: http://dld.bz/4BGe

The Skill of Critiquing Part One: Guidelines for Etiquette: http://dld.bz/4BFX

How To Create Believable Characters: http://dld.bz/2zzn

Why and how one writer decided to self-pub: http://dld.bz/4BFQ

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: An Easy Take on a Classic—Chicken Pot Pie http://bit.ly/9HB8NY @CleoCoyle

One writer’s pet peeves for writing: http://dld.bz/4BEH

Book Marketing and Book Publicity: Why a Book’s Subtitle is So Important: http://dld.bz/4BE6

Taking Control of Your Twitter Log-in Info: http://dld.bz/4BEy

The #1 Reason Every Blogger Should Use Disqus: http://dld.bz/4BEt

Food, wine, and drink in our writing: http://dld.bz/4EtU

Character Planning: A Little About Backstories and Inner Demons: http://dld.bz/46um

How To Prep Yourself and Your Schedule For NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/46ua

The Five Stages of Publishing: http://dld.bz/46tW

Mystery Writer’s Guide to Forensic Science – Poisons III: http://dld.bz/46tG

How to write, produce and market an ebook: http://dld.bz/46tx

Anatomy of a Best-Selling Novel–Structure Matters (Part One): http://dld.bz/46sS

10 resources for writers: http://dld.bz/4BCY @Buddhapuss

Congrats to my friend Cleo on her pb release! Holiday Grind Pub Party: 3 fave @CleoCoyle Holiday #Recipes & Giveaway: http://nblo.gs/9Yy7M

Steampunk Character Type: The Savant: http://dld.bz/46sE

On writing across formats: http://dld.bz/459s

e-books 101: http://dld.bz/459c

5 Reasons Nonfiction Writers Need a Book Proposal: http://dld.bz/458F

One writer’s NaNo tips: http://dld.bz/458c

7 rules of blogging (for writers): http://dld.bz/457E

No NaNo? No Problem: 5 Other Ways to Put 1667 Words-a-Day to Work: http://dld.bz/457A

5 Beliefs That Hinder Your Organizational Skills: http://dld.bz/4zNw

Could you give writing up? Are writers gluttons for punishment? http://dld.bz/4zNv

Alexa rank: What you need to know as a new blogger: http://dld.bz/4zNf

Communication Lessons Learned From The 2010 Midterm Elections: http://dld.bz/4zMY

Want to Write? First, Find Someone Who Cares: http://dld.bz/4zME

Best tweets for writers (wk ending 10-29): http://dld.bz/4623

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Christmas Cookie Contest! http://bit.ly/abMI8n @CleoCoyle

WhenYou Have an Offer From a Publisher…But You Don’t Have an Agent: http://dld.bz/4zMm

30 Days to a Stronger Scene: http://dld.bz/4zHZ

Writing For Publication-101: http://dld.bz/4zHN

Creating word pictures for your readers: http://dld.bz/4zHG

10 Resources and Tips for Character Creation: http://tinyurl.com/2ayeo5d @Buddhapuss

Tips for pacing your novel: http://dld.bz/4zH5

What Motivates Your Character? http://dld.bz/4zHv

3 Mistakes Writers Make in the Quest for Publication: http://dld.bz/4zHp @jodyhedlund

A Whale, A Gun And A Doll House: A Writer’s Reading Diet And Why It Is Crucial To Stray: http://dld.bz/4zGM

Overcoming Resistance (A.K.A. Fear): http://dld.bz/4wvZ @ultraswan

Three Elements Every Novel Needs: http://dld.bz/4wvm

Free rhyming dictionary online: http://dld.bz/4wvk

Tips for bringing your story back from the dead: http://dld.bz/4wve

Improper use of emotion words in fiction writing: http://dld.bz/4wu7

5 Techniques for Managing Group Critiques: http://dld.bz/4wuw

Juxtaposition: The Power of the Unexpected in Fiction: http://dld.bz/4wuv

Tips for creating well-written, focused scenes: http://dld.bz/4wuu

How to Get Motivated in the Morning: http://dld.bz/4wun

Casting characters for our book: http://dld.bz/4b28

13 Places to Find Inspiration: http://dld.bz/3XPz

Putting on a Reader Hat to Revise: http://dld.bz/3XPm

Setting–Adding Dimension to Your Fiction: http://dld.bz/3XPd

NaNoWriMo Workshop – Point of View: http://dld.bz/3XPa

Captivating words: http://dld.bz/3XNj

Why do writers do it? http://dld.bz/3XNh @jodyhedlund

Front-loading your work as a writer: http://dld.bz/3XMw

The YA View: What We Like in Our Books (and What We Don’t): http://dld.bz/3XJT

Hi everybody!

I’ve got a real busy Friday and Saturday planned—and will be putting the finishing touches on Memphis book 3 before sending it to my agent on Monday. I’ll be back Sunday with my Twitterific post for the week, though. Hope you’ll have a great weekend!

It’s pretty much just one of those things. The truth is that I never consciously decided to become a crime author. Back in the eighties, working for magazines, the editors needed someone to cover sensational cases. I was the new kid, the one who needed to please, so my hand went up at a lot at meetings. You need someone to cover that? I’m your gal. Of course, I’ll do it! No problem!

Before long, I gained a reputation for digging into cases, not being afraid to knock on doors and ask questions. So for twenty years, that’s what I did, writing articles for hometown then national magazines, much of the time on murder and mayhem. It’s perhaps only natural then that when my gaze turned to books I focused in on crime writing. We’ve all heard: Write what you know. What I knew are cops, killers, and lawyers.

At first, I wrote true crime books, six of them so far. It turned out it was quite an education. There’s nothing like sitting across a desk for a homicide detective as he explains how he tricked a bad guy into confessing, or across a counter from a killer describing in stark detail how he cornered his prey and pulled the trigger. When that happens, it leaves an impression, and over the decades, my mind filled up with memories of squad rooms, courtrooms, and crime scene photos.

So, about six years ago, when I decided to write fiction, the truth is I had a lot to draw on. My research, to some extent, was done before I sat down at the computer. Still, there were so many decisions to make. I needed a main character, a protagonist to build my mystery series around. Before long, because I wanted her to travel my home state, I decided on a Texas Ranger. I made her a profiler simply because I find psychology fascinating.

The result is Lieutenant Sarah Armstrong, my heroine and my constant companion for the past few years. I believe she lives somewhere in the back of my brain, waiting to take over if I give her the chance. She’s a pretty powerful personality, more so than I am, I’m afraid.

What I gave Sarah to play with are all those memories from my past, my encounters with real life good guys and bad guys, victims and prosecutors. When I sit down to write, they’re all at her disposal, and so far, she hasn’t run out of material.

My days are fairly regimented. I walk past the laundry and the dishes piled up in the sink, sit down at my computer, and stare at the most frightening of all sights, a blank page on a computer screen. Before long, the germ of an idea pops up, a barebones plotline or a character, and slowly I start to write. I carry with me all Sarah has done in the past: her adventures in the first book, Singularity, when she hunted a serial killer; the day she nearly died protecting a teenage pop star from a stalker in Blood Lines. Along with Sarah comes the family I gave her, a mother, Nora, who bakes when nervous, copious amounts, and a daughter, Maggie, who mourns her dead father and studies the stars.

Once I’m writing the ideas come at a steady pace. Characters pop up before I understand why they’re there at times. Somehow, as the book develops, they always seem to have a purpose. If I get stuck, I walk around the block. If I’m really stuck, I take a nap. Along the way, I’m looking for those twists and turns to propel Sarah through the pages of the book, ways to speed up the clock and build the tension. In the third Sarah Armstrong mystery, The Killing Storm, a hurricane puts on the pressure. A child has been kidnapped. He’s in the hands of a madman. And Sarah knows she has to find the boy before the storm hits, or all will be lost.

So that’s my tale, that of a girl who grew up wanting to write, one who became a crime writer mostly by accident and discovered she loves every minute of it.

Kathryn Casey is an award-winning journalist, the author of six highly acclaimed true crime books, and the creator of the Sarah Armstrong Mystery series, published by St. Martin’s Minotaur. The latest book in the series is The Killing Storm (November 2010). Her Web site is: www.kathryncasey.com

Thanks so much for coming by today, Kathryn! I read a great review for “The Killing Storm” and it’s on my TBR list. :) Thanks for sharing your writing process with us.

I do a lot of skimming as I’m looking for blogs to tweet on Twitter.

Sometimes I stop and read the post carefully—and that was the case with a blog post on Work Awesome that I came across the other day.

The article’s author, Oleg Mokhov, made a great point about starting the day out with good momentum. He recommends leaving the last task of the day unfinished so that you can quickly pick up where you left off the next day and polish the task off quickly—thus racking up a speedy ‘win’ to set your day in motion.

He recommends outlining each step needed to complete the task the day before—so there’s no ambiguity that could lead to procrastination. He calls that procrastination start paralysis.

I’ve always used this idea with my writing—I never leave off the day with a scene that I’m not looking forward to writing (a complex scene, a scene with lots of characters, etc.). I try to end my writing time by leaving off at a spot where I’m excited about picking up the next day. Then I sketch out a really quick mini-outline of what I’m planning on writing the following day. This means that I’m eager to pick up my book the next day and don’t put it off.

But it seems to me that it would also help my productivity to quickly complete off a non-writing-related task the next day. Some mornings I wake up already feeling deflated, thinking about all the work I have in store for the day. It would probably help my writing out if I completed a task I started the day before—I’d feel encouraged by my progress right at the beginning of the day.

I have a suspicion that one of the things that grabbed me about this article, when I was skimming it, is the Hemingway quotation at the bottom. :)

The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day…you will never be stuck.

Hemingway’s quotation was parsed by another blog, The Second Act, some time back. They listed the benefits to this method:

You :

• Avoid being stuck
• Keep the momentum going
• Start your day by the rewarding work of finishing a task
• Boost your self-confidence and motivation levels before starting the next task
• End your day on a high note
• Put your brain to purposeful rest when you stop working
• Allow you subconscious to work profitably on it = the bigger picture = your goal.

Again, this seems to work just as well with non-writing tasks as much as meeting our daily writing goal.

I like the idea of starting out the day with a win. How do you build momentum at the start of your day? Or are you finding it later on?