The past week, I’ve been at Harbor Island, South Carolina, enjoying the beach with my parents and children. Through the magic of WiFi, I’ve also been at my blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other places, too. Now I’m packing up to head back to North Carolina.
I’ve got a couple of books to write in the next 6-9 months, and sometimes my mind jumps around from favorite idea to favorite idea. At least mine are all in the same genre (well, a few aren’t, but they’re relegated to a Word file for future reference), but it still can make it difficult to decide which story to tell for which book.
I watched my daughter at the beach on Friday. She perfectly exemplified the problem most writers face when they can’t decide which story to write. First she watched her brother body surf in the waves—and she decided to go back to the beach house to get the boogie board.
When she got back from her long trek back to the house, her brother looked like he was having a lot of fun just floating in the water. The waves weren’t so great, he told her. She spent another 10 minute roundtrip going back to the beach house for her inner tube.
When she was back at the beach again, she saw her brother busily making the best sandcastle you’ve ever seen. Yes, you guessed it—she went right back to the house to get all the buckets, shovels, molds, etc. to help him make the castle.
I let her do all this…because I kept thinking how tired she was going to be at the end of the day. :) Yes, she was going to sleep really well.
But we’re doing the same thing when we don’t commit to a project—we’re wasting our energy and creativity running back and forth on a story that doesn’t need to be written yet.
And we have only so many hours in the day to write—spreading that time over multiple projects really doesn’t make sense unless you’re a freelancer or write both nonfiction and fiction.
So, here’s what I look at when I’m trying to decide which pet project I should work on next:
Protagonist: Which protagonist can carry my story best? Which is better-developed?
Characters: Which project have secondary characters that are more appealing?
Plot: Which storyline can I easily see? Which one has more conflict and more depth?
Market: Which story (it pains me to say it, but you sometimes have to think this way) will appeal to a greater number of readers? Which has more of a hook to sell to a publisher?
Series potential: This may be genre-book specific—but is there a story that lends itself to more than one novel?
How do you decide which of your ideas to write first?
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Elizabeth – I really is hard sometimes to choose and focus on a writing project. I would say I think first about characters and plot (Which plot can I clearly outline and follow through on, and which major characters will carry that plot). I choose the idea with the strongest answer…
I often have troubles deciding on which story to tell next. These tips will really help, as I’ve never approached it in quite that way before! My choice tends to be based on my ‘gut’ instincts. :)
Very much on point. Yes, we do tend to spin our wheels and often the first idea is the best. Thanks for your post.
That is the eternal question. It’s particularly bad for me, because I had to lay off for a while due to issues in real life.
So I came back to a huge backlog of stories waiting to be written, all developed enough to make the “which one is ready?” a moot point. They were all ready.
When you’re in that situation, there is one other factor – related to Dave Ramsey’s “Debt Snowball”. Pick that task that is easiest to finish and get it off your plate to make room for others.
Unless there is a deadline or marketing reason to give something priority, I’ll even do this I can’t get the project off my plate quickly. I will commit for a few weeks at a time to the project where a lot of effort will make the most difference. Then I’ll set it aside and reassess and do something else.
This method, though, is only productive if you have a lot of developed projects on your plate.
You always seem you read my mind, Sometimes your poss lead me in the right direction. Because I’m hard-headed there are times you hit me with the signpost.
Thanks for both.
I have a headache now but I won’t lie down. :>)
Mary
Giggles and Guns
Hope your daughter eventually had fun.
Great image of your children at play and your daughter’s indecision. Your decision making list is a good one to follow.
Great advice! When I’m starting something new, I usually struggle for a few days trying to decide which idea to start! I don’t really have a method to figuring it out; I just sit down, make a decision, and start writing. Love your tips, though! That’ll definitely help me in the future. :)
Lou–Thanks! It’s definitely wheel spinning. :)
Mary–I’m hard-headed, too! I’m sure it’s really a GOOD thing, right? :) At least we know our own mind.
Margot–I think that approach makes a lot of sense. And a lot less work for us, later on.
Jemi–I try to go by my gut sometimes, but it frequently leads me in the wrong direction! :)
Alex–She did….settled down and worked on this monster sandcastle. And, boy, she slept well last night!
Mary–I’m a list person. :) Otherwise, I lose my train of thought too quickly.
Laura–I usually will get “shiny new idea syndrome.” :) But I’ll eventually just stick the other idea into a Word file for later.
The Daring Novelist–Oh no! Sorry you’ve had some unwelcome distractions going on, and hope things are looking up.
Oooh…I like that debt snowball idea. And I don’t think I’ve thought about my projects that way…but it makes a whole lot of sense to give it a try. I usually do have several different things going on at once–some of it even promo related (like interviews to write), but still deadline oriented. I’ll have to give it a go.
The hardest project to write is the one where you’re waiting to find out which of your other two projects might sell. Do you move to door #3 or write a follow-up to one of the ones out there in limbo?
The story that picks me to write it that day is the story I write. I usually have a couple going at once.
Author Guy–I like that! The story that picks you. I wish my stories were better-behaved…they tend to fight it out with each other.
I usually just write the one that’s eating my brain at any given moment. That’s how I’ve written my best short stories, and how I got started on this UF novel. Whee!
:)
P.S. Love the tired-kid syndrome. If they sack out without fuss in the evening, that’s solid gold, that is.