Support for Indie Authors discussion

Does anyone else struggle with having multiple ideas?

Right now I have both a fantasy novel and a romance novel going and I keep bouncing from one to the other.

I can't decide if it's helping or hurting.

This isn't including the few random word docs I have with just a few pages started, the very first novel I ever wrote (and it's half-written sequel), or the other novel that's half finished.

I always know what I want to say, but I often struggle with getting it down.

I'm literally impatient with myself, like I can't get anything down fast enough before it slips away. I still haven't come up with a way to work through it.

Does anyone else have these problems?

If so what has helped you get through it.

Multiple ideas? Yes all of the time. Right now I'm working on two stories. I got stuck with the first one at the 3 quarter mark. There's a scene I just can't get through. I should skip it and come back to it once I get to the ending. Instead, I thought of an idea for a novella and I'm working my way through it instead.

I really want to finish my book and it bothers me that I've left it on the back burner while I chase after these other characters who have come to haunt me.

That's my weakness - I follow the characters whose voices are the loudest.

I just write all the ideas down and come back to it at a later date. Like right now, I have three, maybe four works I'm working on(Just starting one possibly). Since I use my wife as a sound board, we never lack for ways to get around a situation. That tends to help. Oh, and I've been soaking in my choosen genres since I was nine years old(Dune was particularly enlightening at that point in my life.)

I struggle with concepts, I can never have too many of them. Something has to really move me emotionally before I can write on it.

Personally, I like to be working on at least three things at once. If I get stuck on one story (which I frequently do), I switch to another. Trying to focus on one thing (even two) just doesn't work for me and never has.

Katie wrote: "Does anyone else struggle with having multiple ideas?"

I usually have several projects going all at once. It's not a struggle. It actually helps as they are all very different things, different tones, different levels of drama / humor. Depending on my mood I can find one to sink into for a while.

Katie wrote: "I'm literally impatient with myself, like I can't get anything down fast enough before it slips away. I still haven't come up with a way to work through it."

I don't worry about ideas that slip away, anymore. I figure those were probably weak ideas if I can't keep them in my memory.

Deborah wrote: "That's my weakness - I follow the characters whose voices are the loudest. "

Are you sure that's a weakness? It sounds like a strength to me. The loud characters may be the ones who are most ready to have their story told. I'd say go with it. As long as you're writing something.

Riley wrote: "Oh, and I've been soaking in my choosen genres since I was nine years old(Dune was particularly enlightening at that point in my life.)"

I remember reading Dune at the age of like 10 or 11. That was just amazing.

On to the actual question... I've always got a whole bunch of different ideas floating around my head. I make notes on them and put them to one side for later rather than act immediately. That way when I come to look at them again weeks later... I can be more objective whether it's a good idea. I typically have a couple of projects on the go at once. But it's always within my crime/thriller-y genre so I can't say I connect to jumping between genres. I wish I could be a bit more focused and consistent in my execution though. Some days are just really poor productively.

I have a few stories in my head and I can't decide which one to work on! It's kind of frustrating. Sometimes, the different stories collide and I wonder if I should just write something entirely different from the collision! But, I have to start writing soon. Before the stories evaporate.

I probably have more ideas than I will ever get to. I've had one bouncing around for a while and started writing last summer, but put it aside to start another series. Now I'm trying to write all of the series books and this other idea keeps popping up. Such is the brain of an author. ;)

What I've found helps is taking 'free write' days where I just pound out whatever comes to mind. It might start out as a new book idea and morph into something I use in my current work or it could snowball into its own huge production, but either way, it felt good to get it out of my head.
I also find that if there's a project gnawing at the back of my head, but I want to finish something else, I allow myself to think about it as I'm going to sleep. This sort of cements it in my gray matter for later use.

I keep pen and paper by my side..Ideas come and go for me so fast I have to catch them....and there are many all at once and then blank stares in between ;)

I have about three books going right now and two finished that I am refining as well. I find words float through my head daily and think I need to run to my computer right now and jot it down. When I finally get there to type, the whole conversation and flow of what was in my head changes. My fingers just move on there own. It isn't hard for me to have several things going on at once. I do tend to re-read what I wrote when I go back to one of my stories that have sat for a while and find myself editing and enjoying it as I go.

Green wrote: "I keep pen and paper by my side..Ideas come and go for me so fast I have to catch them....and there are many all at once and then blank stares in between ;)"

I have tried that and I know it works for some authors. It doesn't work for me. Often times I will look it over every couple days or so and think, "Most of these ideas are trash. What was I thinking?" So, my method has become to just rely on keeping a list in my head. If something drops off, it probably wasn't a good idea.

I've been working on the same project for three and a half years now, but sometimes new ideas pop into my head. It depends on the length - if it's only a short story, I'll take a break from my novel and write it; if it threatens to sprout into more, I'll put it on the back burner but bear it in mind for my next book. I must have the weirdest looking Notes section on my phone in the world - it's full of cryptic sentences that undoubtedly look very odd to anyone else but represent some idea I was desperate to pin down.

Dwayne wrote: "Green wrote: "I keep pen and paper by my side..Ideas come and go for me so fast I have to catch them....and there are many all at once and then blank stares in between ;)"

I have tried that and I ..."


I had a boss that used to call that "Digging through sh*t and looking for pearls." Sure, you might throw 20 ideas away, but it was worth it if you keep just one.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one multi-tasking. ;D

For me, it's not stories that pop into my head, but rather characters. When I start writing I almost never know what's going to happen or where they'll end up.

I tried to plan out my plot once...it was an epic failure.

I wish I could be a bit more focused though, maybe then I could get it written down and not be such an insomniac. Haha

Katie wrote: "For me, it's not stories that pop into my head, but rather characters. When I start writing I almost never know what's going to happen or where they'll end up."

That happens to me all the time. I am, right now, halfway done with the rough draft of my upcoming novel and reading it through. I'm finding that the character I had intended to be the main antagonist is just too much of a wimp. So, I need to bring in someone bigger and badder for the second half.

I find that when I plan out novels, stuff like this does not happen. And it's too bad. I like being surprised by the twists my characters will take a story in.

Halfway through? Didn't you just start writing? Dang!

Christina wrote: "Halfway through? Didn't you just start writing? Dang!"

AND I've written the rough draft of a short story featuring a small portion of the cast.

I type very fast. I once worked as a relay operator.

Apparently your brain works fast as well. I spend half my writing day drooling on the keyboard trying to decide what happens next.

With the novel I just published I had something similar happen.

The first draft looks nothing like the finished product.

That being said, I never plan out my plot, but my characters are a different story. Before I start writing them in I know their backstory and what makes them tick.

I think it would also help if I had more time to dedicate to writing. However, being a SAHM to a ten month old and a two year old makes this difficult.

Christina wrote: "Apparently your brain works fast as well. I spend half my writing day drooling on the keyboard trying to decide what happens next."

I'm going to be doing a series of articles in my blog about how to deal with writers block. Does drooling help? I'm not familiar with that method.

I generally just go with whatever comes to mind and see what happens. I just crank up some music and start typing. Sometimes it means deleting page after page of garbage, yes, but at least something is getting written. And sometimes even the garbage can be recycled into something readable.

Katie wrote: "I think it would also help if I had more time to dedicate to writing."

Finding time is tough, but crucial. I work as a caregiver for disabled adults and I work an intense seven days in a row, then get seven off. It's tough to find time to write in those seven days, but I must. I get a lot done in the seven days off.

Dwayne wrote: "AND I've written the rough draft of a short story featuring a small portion of the cast.

I type very fast. I once worked a..."

Wow! It can easily take me 2-hrs to type an email.

Owen wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "AND I've written the rough draft of a short story featuring a small portion of the cast.

I type very fast. I once worked a..."

Wow! It can easily take me 2-hrs to type an email."

I'm finding that hard to believe. Sorry. You write some long posts here. I have a feeling you're a faster typist than that. Unless you write some incredibly long emails.

Dwayne wrote: "I'm finding that hard to believe. Sorry. You write some long posts here. I have a feeling you're a faster typist than that. Unless you write some incredibly long emails..."

Lessee... The last two 1000 words and 1300 words, respectively. Those were probably longer than average. The only time I checked, I clocked in at 15-20 words per minute. That was years ago.

Owen wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "I'm finding that hard to believe. Sorry. You write some long posts here. I have a feeling you're a faster typist than that. Unless you write some incredibly long emails..."

Lessee....."


This is why I kicked myself in the ass to write a book. If Tolstoy can write War and Peace by hand using lamplight, surely I can do something typing 90+ wpm with all our sophisticated tech.

Flowing with the text is much easier when your fingers can keep up with your brain.

Rob wrote: "Never considered these "other ideas " a distraction or something for an other project. I simply weave them in. Probably the prime reason for both the genre ambiguity and high plot density I've been..."

Some of my unused ideas for short stories work their way into larger projects at times.

Owen wrote: "Lessee....."

I like that word. Okay, I will try to believe you type slow, if you insist you do. I just had this notion that you must be a fast typist.

I find it interesting that people work on multiple ideas at once, since I'm very much the opposite. Does anyone like to set themselves targets in getting out first drafts? For me, working on 2-3 ideas at once would mean I might not get a first draft done in a year given how much free time i sometimes have.

A.E. wrote: "Does anyone like to set themselves targets in getting out first drafts?"

Never. I work on what I'm in the mood to work on. I know my writing will read like writing if I force myself to do it. Things may sit around for months or years without me working on them, but I'm always working on something.

A.E. wrote: "Does anyone like to set themselves targets in getting out first drafts?"

Wanted to add: I do make an exception for the Happy Clown Burger stories, since they're so short. I try to get a rough draft done in thirty minutes. Forty and I'm disappointed. An hour or more and I'm angry.

A.E. wrote: "I find it interesting that people work on multiple ideas at once, since I'm very much the opposite. Does anyone like to set themselves targets in getting out first drafts?"

Nope. My career was all about deadlines. I took up this "job" to avoid them. Things get done at their own pace.

Dwayne wrote: "Owen wrote: "Lessee....."

I like that word. Okay, I will try to believe you type slow, if you insist you do. I just had this notion that you must be a fast typist."

Not fast. But persistent. ; )

Owen wrote: "Nope. My career was all about deadlines. I took up this "job" to avoid them. Things get done at their own pace."

Probably more or less the same for me, Owen. At my other job, it's all about doing things on a schedule. It's all about routine. I need to unwind from that when I write.

A.E. wrote: "I find it interesting that people work on multiple ideas at once, since I'm very much the opposite. Does anyone like to set themselves targets in getting out first drafts? For me, working on 2-3 id..."

I have vague deadlines. For example, when I published my last book, I noted that the next in series will be out this summer. That's because I already had the concept, story, and a few chapters written. I'm confident that I'll have the entire thing ready to go by June, but by saying summer, I'm giving myself until early September in the event of a crisis.

I tend to have a bunch of ideas at once, but my writing partner definitely comes from the school of thought where he needs to be all in on one idea at a time. Works out nicely in balance, where his focus drives the project on, but my dabbling thoughts help pave the way for the next stuff in the pipeline.

Dwayne wrote: "Probably more or less the same for me, Owen. At my other job, it's all..."

Damn straight. (It's been years and I'm still unwinding.) What would we do without this outlet?

Deadlines help me, but I'm a terrible procrastinator because I've been able to get away with it my whole life. I work well under pressure, and focus more. I would not want to deal with a corporate deadline for something like creative writing though.

Interesting - thanks for the perspectives :) ... my deadlines are all self-imposed. Writing is definitely my more relaxing job