Shiny Objects

Writing a book is hard. I know that. You know that. You have to know your characters better than you know yourself. You have to have a deep understanding of a fictional world that doesn't exist. You have the make the plot run smoothly, with limited holes, all while finding the right words to do it. It's not easy.

But hey, I never signed up for easy.

One of the biggest problems I have is with actually finishing something. A common trend with me is that I'll spend a couple of months on one story, then get distracted by some shiny object and abandon it indefinitely.

That shiny object is usually a new story idea.

Don't you just hate that? When your love and excitement for a current story fades, and as you're struggling to pull some minuscule amount of joy from it, something sparks. It's not a spark inspired by your current WIP, of course. That would just be too easy. No, this spark is something different, something fresh....something new.

I can't count how many times I've left a story to collect dust on my computer because my eye has been attracted to this New Idea. I've lost track of how many times this New Idea has been so GREAT, so WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL that it just can't wait a few more months, until I've finished what I've started.

I also can't count the amount of times this New Idea has, eventually, turned out like all of the rest: abandoned. Dismissed. Left behind with minimal chances of survival, while I pursue the new New Idea, which will most certainly be the one I finish, no doubt about it.

I know I'm not the only one who does this. (At least I certainly hope I'm not.)

Lately, I feel like I've gotten better at sticking to what I start, instead of ditching it in favour of something new. I've developed a new system, which acts as follows:

STEP 1: RECORD NEW IDEA

So you have a new idea. FANTASTIC! No no no, don't start writing it. Put the word document down and step away from the laptop! There's a better way to handle this!

Take out a notebook, your journal, your phone, whatever, and write this idea down. Write down as much info as you can come up with right now; names, plot points, whatever. Use up as much paper as you want, fill up as many lines as you can. Just don't start writing any scenes, and you'll be fine.

STEP 2: SAVE NEW IDEA FOR LATER

Now you have a shiny New Idea, in physical form, in the palms of your hands. Wonderful. Now put it away.

Set the notebook down, real easy now. That's it! Store it somewhere that you'll be able to find it later. Put a post-it note or a bookmark on the page. Type it in a document and save it in a folder on your computer. Whatever works best for you--just stuff it somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind.

STEP 3: FINISH YOUR CURRENT WIP

It doesn't even have to be polished and edited. I'm not picky. Just finish the current draft. You can do it.

STEP 4: RETRIEVE NEW IDEA

So your old WIP is finished (to an extent). Lovely! Good for you! I'm proud.

Now, if you like, you can go back to your New Idea. Go on--you've earned it! Work on it for as long as you want.


I've fallen into a bit of a pattern with this. Once I finish a draft of a WIP, I switch over to a new (or old) project. Then, once I've finished a draft there, I switch back again. I feel like this keeps me from getting too sick and tired of one story--not to mention it gives me the break I need to look at my writing (somewhat) objectively.

(Saving up a bunch of ideas over time also comes in handy around November, when I need an idea to use for NaNoWriMo. The only issues I ever have then is which idea to pick from.)\


Does this system work for you, or do you have a different way of handling the dreaded New Idea? Let me know in the comments below!

Until later,

- Justyne