I have a hard time making decisions.
Not big decisions—those are pretty easy for me to make. But smaller decisions, like what restaurant to choose for supper.
I used to have a hard time deciding which story idea I’d work on next. When you have a lot of ideas, it’s tough to choose between them.
And characters. Think of all the potential characters we’ve got up in our heads! I’ve got a whole cast of them and they’re all auditioning with gusto, hoping for their chance to get in a book.
If you think of it, every single bit of our story is a choice. What will the characters do next? How will they react to it? And then what happens? How does it all resolve?
We can choose so many different paths for our story to take.
Right now, I’m starting a requested outline for the second book in the Southern quilting mystery series (and working on the second draft of the first book in the series). I’ve got several ideas for it that I could go with. Which should I decide on?
There are several different things I think about before choosing a storyline.
The first is the reader. I know my genre well and I think about which aspects of the genre readers love the most. I work to incorporate those in the story.
After that, I think about which story I’d have the most fun writing. Is it something I’d have fun with? Is it something my readers could relate to and have fun with, too?
Is there a plot that I can easily see the different possibilities with?
Is there a story with more potential for conflict than another?
Is there a story that will give my protagonist more challenges, internal conflict, and more opportunities for growth?
Is there a storyline with more of a marketable hook than another?
Is there a story idea that requires more research than another? Do I have time to do that extra research in a thorough way, or should I choose a simpler idea?
Sometimes my plot ideas come with characters included. Is there one that has more interesting supporting characters than the others?
Have you got lots of different story ideas? How do you choose which to focus on?
Elizabeth – I do get lots of different ideas for new stories and for the way the story will go in my WIP. Like you, I start with the reader. Which plot, storyline, event, etc. is going to give the reader the best experience? I also try to put myself “in the story” and ask myself which decision falls out most naturally from the story and characters. Not that I don’t add surprises and twists, but to me it’s so important that those twists make sense given the story.
The piece I’m writing chose me and it’s very fickle.
Karen
For me, the decision usually comes from somewhere in the back of my brain, where all the pending ideas battle it out for top position: whichever one is the victor – the idea that makes me want to rush through whatever I’m doing so I can get to it – gets moved to the front of the queue. All the other ideas then, naturally, loudly complain about “favouritism.”
Worryingly, some of the ideas – who’ve been there for years – have recently started talking about a strike…
My ideas usually revolve around characters, and I’ve written 4 books in a series because I needed to know more about them.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
I’ve a lot of ideas, especially for fiction, but at the moment I’m focusing on one that will actually sell.
I just went for a sequel to my book. Of course, I’d never planned a sequel, so that was fun.
It’s the characters that call out the loudest for me to write them. Sometimes the plot comes with them.
Diane–Selling is a good thing. :)
Margot–Good point. If it’s a stretch that the characters would behave in a particular way…it’s a problem for the story.
Alex–It would be fun to explore the characters more and continue developing them–especially when you hadn’t planned on it.
Helen–Those characters can be a rowdy lot.
Karen–I’ve been chosen by stories before–too funny! Lately, I’ve been the Chooser. :)
Michael–Picking the one you feel most passionate about makes a lot of sense. Uh oh…a strike? Maybe give the stories a timeline that you plan on writing them in. :)
You take a thoughtful approach to planning, Elizabeth. Do you find your plan changing once you begin a project?
I’m with Terry on this. I have a group of characters I want to know more about and I create the stories based on that. But also, if I have a story that won’t fly within the genre I’m working in, I table it for another day.
Good questions to ask ourselves! I don’t have deadlines at this point, so I get to play around with all the ideas I like :)
Whatever idea speaks the loudest and is most congenial is the one that gets written. I want to finish the third book in my series, but that one has wandered into some very strange territory that I either have to work through, or more likely cut and run. Meanwhile I have another that is speaking to me quite clearly and not causing me any trouble. Yet. So I write the second. If I hit a snag I may go back to the first just to get a different view on things, and allow some ideas to germinate. Having many books going at once is often a great way of getting around obstacles, one plot offering a solution to another.
I have lots of ideas and characters, but I rarely develope them past that first rush of conception. I may write on it all night, and the next time I open it not be interested for whatever reason.
I think its good to always have someting at least partially developed, in case you get stumped on a current project and need the change of pace. Or, you never know when the perfect opportunity will come along for a half formed idea and it become the CURRENT WIP.
This was a lovely post Elizabeth
……dhole
Terry–I usually have a core group of characters in a series, but then I’ll add a few more to each book in the series. That way I develop the older characters, but keep things fresh for me as I’m working.
Mollie –It’s amazing how characters can manipulate our stories! I’m with you on that, too.
Author Guy–You’re good to be able to juggle more than one book at a time! I’ve done that once and seemed to get myself confused a lot. Right now I’m in a cycle where I’m editing one as I’m writing another and that seems to work out prety well for me.
Donna–I’ve got a Word file that’s full of ideas and characters–for stories in other genres, even. Deadlines keep me on track with the story I’ve chosen, but I know that one day I’m going to pick up some of these other stories and tell them! :)
Bob–I’ll go in a different direction with plot, but only so far into the story…it’s more of a time/deadline issue. If I can think of a better way to *tell* the story, I’ll do it–but I won’t radically change the basic plot if I’m far into the manuscript.
Jemi–That’s a good thing! :)
I focus on the basics. “Motive, Method and Opportunity” I kind of reverse engineer the crime. I start with the characters and their situation and them plug M,M, and O into it. I get stuck a lot on Motive because that is what will drive the story and subplots too. But once I hit on it, I really get mu huices goin.