Jill here.
Thinking today about ideas, and how when I get one I like in my head, I really, really want to work on it. And even though sometimes I can't work on it, because I'm under contract, the idea just won't go away.
This is how it is for me. I have some ideas that I love to daydream about. The scenes continually play out in my head, over and over. Does that ever happen to you?
Well, I say, if an idea won't leave you alone, pay attention to it! It clearly wants to be written. (And is trying to DEMAND to be written.) If you can't work on the idea now, at least take some time to jot down a list of the thoughts and scenes that are building in your mind. That way, you will have them all filed away for later so that when you DO have time, you will be ready to write!
What ideas are hounding you right now?
Yes I get ideas all the time, and I write many of them down but most just sit in a little blue book for a long time.... but they are there!
ReplyDeleteSuch a book is a great place for those ideas to lay in wait, Clare!
DeleteI have a notebook for ideas as well. Right now, my only ideas are related to expanding my previous WIP and my next WIP, which are a "book one and sequel" type thing. Such a great quote, Mrs. Williamson!
ReplyDeleteI like keeping a notebook for each series, too, Linea. That way I have a place to go when new ideas hit for each story. :-)
DeleteThis happens to me all the time! Ideas seem to hit me in the shower or in bed. I've had this idea in my head for quite some time, and recently I realized it wouldn't work exactly as I had previously envisioned it. Luckily, another massive idea hit me a week or two ago, and I combined them! I am honestly so excited to start working on it, but I have another WIP. I do manage to sneak in a few world-building minutes every now and then though. :)
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing...I am stuck for inspiration if I sit down to think about the book, but ideas come to me all the time when I'm NOT trying to find them. My current MC demanded to be written while I was staring out a car window.
DeleteI love it when you can combine two ideas into one and it makes them both better. That is awesome!
DeleteI have a couple that I'm not yet ready to start working on. The one I'm most excited about involves a character from one of my old WIPs and a weird not-quite-dystopian world, but I don't have enough info yet to get started. Maybe next Camp session, or during NaNo.
ReplyDeleteThe idea needs more time in the dream machine, perhaps. ;-)
DeleteYeah...being a pantster, I only really need the MC and a vague concept, but I like to just let ideas stew if I have another project, as I do now. The protagonist comes ready made for this one, though, since she's recycled from an old book, which makes my life easier. And the jinn. This book has informed me that it involves jinn. No idea why.
DeleteFyodor and Dmitry. No, they most certainly cannot wait until next weekend.
ReplyDeleteThere are days I jump out of bed before sunrise just to write. Bliss. Sheer silent bliss.
LOL Yes, I know this feeling, too. :-)
DeleteAll. The. Time. Sometimes to an annoying extent...=) But, seriously, I do love the feeling of an idea being born and of it developing and growing stronger until it just comes straight out your fingers onto paper and propels you forward into yet another universe of your mind!
ReplyDeletePerfectly worded, Anne Marie.
DeleteIndeed! Well said. :-)
DeleteAn idea actually came to me yesterday, and now I really want to write it! It was just kind of a vague idea when I first got it, but then as I continued to think about it and it started to deepen, I started getting really excited about it and I had to at least write it down. Now I've got (what I think is) an awesome idea for a story just waiting for when I'm ready to dive in. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that idea, then ! x
DeleteThat's such an exciting time, Emily.
Delete"What if there was this secret-agent-or-something guy, and he was trying to stop this-great-big-plot, except he didn't actually know who was behind the whole thing? And he's undercover, so the villain doesn't know who he is either? And it turns out that they're actually roommates?"
ReplyDeleteYeah. Got that lovely thing yesterday, and it won't leave me alone...
That is an awesome idea!!! :D
DeleteOoohhhh! Nice, Catsi!
DeleteI have a story idea that's been plaguing me for days, about a girl guarding a forest... and now that I've read The Goose Girl, I'm wanting to work in some elements from that. *headdesk*
ReplyDeleteI love the Goose Girl story. Betrayal! It makes such an intriguing start to a story.
DeleteI usually have lots of ideas, but none are coming to me now - extremely annoying since I'm in the 6 weeks after I finished my 1st draft and I really want to write.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? It's been a while since I've gotten any fresh ideas, and no matter how many writing exercises I do, I haven't gotten one screaming at me in forever. It sucks :P x
DeleteAww, bummer. Maybe you guys can work on rewrites during this time? That can be tedious, but it's an important skill for every writer to practice.
DeleteYes, I daydream about my ideas all the time. Most of my stories are character driven, so I usually pick a scene and a problem and have my protags react. Every once in a while, a scene or an action that was taken sticks and, for the next few days, it's all I can think about.
ReplyDelete~K. A. C. (my device won't let me comment as anything but anonymous)
I love it when that happens. The more I can daydream a scene, the easier it is to write.
DeleteYES! I daydream CONSTANTLY, everything from my own projects to fanfictions. And I'm constantly getting ideas, a couple a week at least. The ones that stick with me the most, though, are manuscripts that I've already written and am itching to go back and edit. I don't necessarily like editing, lol, but I'm desperate to go back to those storyworlds.
ReplyDeleteAlexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
Oh, nice! Better to be excited about stories that need edits than feeling dread about it. That excitement should help propel you through that hard work!
DeleteHaha, yeah, hopefully! :D
DeleteSo I have a current WIP and then one waiting on the backburner that I play with when I need a break. But last week, a new one popped into my head (the whole thing!) and wouldn't go away. It was exactly like your post said. I try to ignore "plot bunnies" until I finish my current projects, but when they are this persistent I usually cave and write enough to capture it for later.
ReplyDeleteThis new one is about a sheltered girl who goes to work as a nursing assistant (mostly cleaning and getting simple vitals) at a small clinic. Her biggest hope is to not see anything gory, and this clinic seems to be the perfect fit. But when civil war breaks out, she is plunged into the battlefront and her biggest hope changes to survival -- for herself and for every patient that crosses her path.
Oh, how interesting. I can see how that story would pull you in! Good luck on it. :-)
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