I have a problem. As you can probably tell from the title of this post, my problem is inspiration. Too much inspiration. I am literally brimming with ideas for new stories, each vying for the right to be written first. It's like a pay-per-view boxing match and my mind is the arena. Just the other day, for instance, I was struck by inspiration twice in the same day - for two totally different (style, genre) books - that I just had to start right then or else risk losing the idea. What's wrong with this? Well, nothing, except for the fact that these new ideas are vying for supremacy over the ones I already have in the works.
Now normally, I wouldn't be bothered by this sudden influx of creativity. I know how quixotic creativity can be. Some days, you have absolutely nothing to work with and others, well, you already know about that, don't you? But my sudden surge in creativity is coming at an inopportune time for me. For one thing, my younger daughter's computer finally died a quiet death, so now I have to compete with her for time on my computer. For another thing, that same daughter has some medical and dental issues that have been eating up a lot of my time lately. So of course my muse would pick this time to pump up on steroids and flood my mind with a bevy of ideas that I just have to write now. Oh, well, at least I'll have these ideas to work on when my muse takes a cruise in the winter.
So my question to you is, has this ever happened to you and how did you handle it? If you have an suggestions for me on how to wrangle my muse or at least corral these ideas, I would greatly appreciate it. ~ Margay
I've honestly never written anything..but these past few weeks I have had so many ideas for my own book. I really need to sit down and start something, because my head is starting to hurt from my over active imagination!
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your writing,
Jenni
I've got several half-finished stories...the muse dropped the idea, wrote ch 1 and moved on. Now I'm working on something else, and hopefully when it's finished, I can pick up one of the others and take off on it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck; any way you can sketch out a bare outline of all your ideas, rather than pantsing them? That's what I did this last time, and I'm on Ch 3 now.
Margay, I definitely hear you on the muse thing. I have a whole story about muses that I did for a class, but that I'll relay another day.
ReplyDeleteFor some time now, the idea of doing something like a "bachelor/bachelorette/reality TV" thing had been in my mind, but nothing really took hold. Then, after reading a few of the Harlequin Intrigues (all by Sylvie Kurts), a really cool idea struck, with even more twists than I had before.
I figured I'd write down the idea in a couple of sentences and then I'd be done and could go back to my series of novels, so I just pulled out a notepad rather than my computer.
Well, no dice! Before I knew it, I had mapped-out/sketched about 12 chapters! I finally just entered them into the computer last night and, as I was trying some stouts and porters, a twist I wasn't privy to, developed last night. From out of nowhere, the hero changed, and so did the possible love interest of the heroine. Huh? I'm still scratching my head over that one.
I'm not complaining because the twist will make the story much more intriguing and will add some more suspense. But still, I need to write this one now, before I can go back and work on my series of novels that seems to grow by day.
Wow! A book that my current planet didn't eat! I'm so pleased and happy because this is actually something I can finish and possibly look to submit in the next year.
Carrie
Jenni, that is exactly when you need to write, because that pain you're feeling in your head is the ideas trying to come out - whatever way they can! I suggest you write them down, it's less painful.
ReplyDeleteMargay
Molly, my problem is that I'm not a pantser, I am a plotter - and I have so many ideas in my head right now, how do I plot them all out at the same time? Maybe I could try sketching...
ReplyDeleteMargay
Carrie, that's wonderful - and intriguing! I hope you have great success with it.
ReplyDeleteMargay
This isn't a problem I have very often, but when I do, I try to write a sentence or two about each of the stories, then run with the one yelling the loudest.
ReplyDeleteBTW: It might be worth it to you to buy a new laptop and let your daughter have the old computer. ;)That way you could take it along to appointments and work while you wait.
Susan Shay
http://the-twisted-sisters.com
http://susanshay.net
Susan, good suggestions! Unfortunately, a few ideas are yelling loudly right now. I guess I probably shouldn't complain, though - it's better than writer's block...I think.
ReplyDeleteMargay