We have all heard of writer’s block in which an author is blocked/loses the capacity to produce new work. Some of us may have experienced this stagnation of writing. In addition, you know the frustration of trying to work through the block to get the ideas and writing flowing.
What happens if you have the opposite of writer’s block?
Pat Mason, a bestselling award-winning author and one of my best friends, said recently “I have the opposite problem of writers’ block. I have way too many ideas- like idea avalanche and not enough focus.”
I know what she means. Often I go through bursts of both writer’s block and idea avalanche.
Recently, I had an idea for a young adult trilogy. The characters are already talking to me. The heroine’s goal motivation and conflict are forming. Her love interests are taking shape. Subplots and settings are weaving their way into my mind. This is great, isn’t it?
Yes, it is.
But no, it is not.
I am in the middle of writing a mainstream cozy mystery series, as well as being under tight deadlines finishing two short stories for anthologies. So no- not good timing. I am overwhelmed with writing commitments and cannot handle another idea. Too many ideas can make me feel as frustrated as not enough.
What do you do when this happens?
For example, Mason works through her overabundance of ideas in her own way. “Often I write a few stories at one time, which result in nothing at all getting completed. Although I don’t recommend this, if I have a story idea I try to type up whatever is in my head, whether it is a plotline, a character, dialogue and put it in a document in my work in progress file on my laptop. But the problem with that is that nothing gets done. So I have to pick one and not allow myself the luxury of getting distracted by a new shiny idea until I type the end of my current project.”
One novel at a time seems to work for me. Although, I often work on posts and short stories at the same time. Writing one novel at a time helps keep me focused on all of the characters, plotlines etc. However, I do have a spiral bound notebook in which I jot down shiny new ideas. I use it as Mason uses her work in progress folder on her computer. Because I don’t want to lose the ideas, yet I don’t have the time to do anything with them right away.
Your turn, WG2E-Land: Do you have times of both writers block and idea avalanche? What do you do with either?
The Best of Idea Avalanche Wishes — Lois Lavrisa
I also keep a spiral notebook of ideas and write down everything in my head about the idea–scenes, dialogue, etc. I’m currently working on two projects at once, which can be a little tough, but also nice, because if I get stuck on one, I can work on the other.
Since I lay out my projects before I start writing, I get blocked when plotting out a book, in which case I keep my storyboard near my desk and keep looking at it until something pops. As for too many ideas, I’m considering approaching some writer friends of mine to contribute to a small town series I want to do…because I have so many ideas already I can only hope I’ll live long enough to see them all come to fruition!
Bettye I am so glad that storyboards work for you. Many writers find those invaluable. I might just give it a try as well:)
Dana it seems that you have it down- two projects at once keep you moving ahead:)
Usually I have one project I’m excited about working on at a time. But right now, after having attended a writers police academy conference, I’ve got quite a few ideas fighting for attention. I’m thinking those other ideas are mostly short stories, though, so once I get to a stopping point with the novel I’m writing, I’ll try to flesh one or two out, hopefully giving me a break from the novel before going back to it.
Thanks for another fun post!
Tamara- did you go to Lee Lofland’s police academy for writers? That sound like so much fun, and something on my wish list to attend. thanks for your comments:)
This is exactly why I developed and wrote the book on Muse Therapy, Lois! I needed “therapy” myself because I had sooo many ideas and just couldn’t get a handle on ‘em…so I used my psychology degree and “wrote the book on it.”
Yep…the “therapist” uses her own “therapy.”
To get a grip on my Idea Avalanches, I use collages (both with boards and Gorilla glue as well as on Pinterest) as well as notebooks full of ideas just waiting for me to use ‘em. I’ve also found that writing every day – even if it’s only 5 pages – makes my muses feel better because they’re crankin’ out those ideas daily rather than letting ‘em stew in my already filled up head. ‘Course, there’s always my D. D. Scott-ville Bitchy Signs too:
http://ddscottville.blogspot.com/2012/09/heres-some-brand-new-bitchy-signs-from.html
DD, your Muse Therapy book is awesome! And writing five pages (or more) a day really does keep the creative juices flowing, doesn’t it?
Thanks bunches, Lois! It was a ton of fun to write!
And wow does just crankin’ out a little bit each day make a huge difference in the flow of your muses and your stories. I actually find myself getting very anxious if for some reason I can’t get my pages out. In fact, this last weekend, when my dad was in the hospital, I still wrote in a journal I had with me ’cause that was one way I could de-stress a bit.
Do any of you use Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages (from her fabulous book The Artist’s Way)? That’s something I talk about in Muse Therapy that has really helped me be more productive.
The Artist’s Way is one of my favorite books too:)
When a new character or story starts speaking to me, I make time (often in the wee hours of the morning) to start jotting things down, even if it’s just an outline. The most important thing is to capture the essence of the new character, their personality, in some scene. If I can capture their essence, I can go back later and flesh them out. But if I lose them, when I -do- go down later to capture them they will be angry with me and refuse to speak.
I view it as when a toddler interrupts. You have to give them their cookie and juice to keep them happy, then send them to go amuse themselves a little while so you can finish what you -need- to get done before playing with them.
Anna, don’t you just find it funny that we get ideas in the middle of the night, or while taking a shower…?I love your comparison : “I view it as when a toddler interrupts. You have to give them their cookie and juice to keep them happy, then send them to go amuse themselves a little while so you can finish what you -need- to get done before playing with them.”
Luuuvvv it, Anna…keep your muses in cookies and juice! All-natural cookies and juice of course…and juice, well that could be of the wine and cocktail type too!
Perfect timing as I’ve been going through this myself right now!! SO many ideas! I keep a spiral notebook – and if it seems to be screaming “write me, write me!!” I will do just that – get the thoughts down on the computer – and then leave them. So I basically have them in two places.
If I do start to develop that idea that is in two places, then I start a notebook just for it and begin writing dialogue, locations, anything that has to do with eventually getting that book written.
Right now I’ve got the sequel to my fav, Tudor Rose that will come out in November, and already the sequel to that is screaming ideas!! And it’s going to be written quite differently form the first two!!!
Same way with Timeless Sojourn – I have the sequel well underway. And yesterday? Took to stories that were similar and combined them into one!!
So yes, this happens to me ALL the time!! LOL! Great post!!
Sooo many ideas sooo little time. Jamie congratulations on your sequel to Tudor Rose, and another waiting in the wings:) Let us know the release date:)
I totally forgot, Lois!!
Tudor Rubato will release on November 9th!!
Look forward to reading it- thanks for the update:)
Oh, to only have one notebook for ideas. Well, I kinda do–I carry a notebook and write EVERYTHING in it. Once it’s full, I cull out the ideas and store them in a folder or notebook. My problem is the tendency to record ideas and snippets on any writing surface available. So I end up with a stack of different sizes of paper, etc. I’ve even been known to write on a piece of foil–just so I don’t forget!
Anna, I love the toddler analogy. I get that. Sometimes the flow of ideas is kinda like when the students come to lunch at the mundane job–a whole bunch of little voices clamoring for mz *lizzie’s attention.
Oh my goodness, you write on a piece of foil? Love it! Lizzie what great ideas to just get the thoughts caught and recorded then revisit them later. Thanks for posting:)
I used to keep everything in spiral notebooks before personal computers, but now I mostly keep them in files on the computer. Over time, if I get have an idea reasonably fleshed out (i.e., major characters and enough quotes from the characters or character biographies, how they know each other, maybe a few paragraphs, or even a single chapter, I give the book it’s own folder inside the primary folder. I also keep an images folder inside the book’s development folder, where I drop images that seem to belong with that book, to help jog my mind once I get back to that story and actually start writing. If I see a photo of someone who looks like the mind’s eye view I have of one of the characters, I drop that in the images folder as well, because it helps remind me of who the characters seem to think they are once I get back to the book.
For me when I’m writing fiction, it reminds me a lot of sitting on my grandmother’s porch in the summer. Because my mom had grown up with so many of the people in the area, there would be an endless stream of catch up type gossip about who was doing what, personal victories and defeats of all the “characters” in the area. I feel like my folders serve that purpose of reminding me who the people are in my book, and when I’m writing, I kind of feel like I’m catching up on the gossip about what they were doing while I was gone.
Love it- your folders are like front porch “gossip/catching up” Great ideas:)
I call it “scrap preservation.” Those ideas end up cataloged in a text file until it’s time to assemble the detailed synopsis or incorporate them in a draft. Some of the best moments of being a writer are when you stop doing something else, stare into space for a moment, and then mumble, “Oh, baby … yeah.”
Luuuvvv the “scrap preservation,” Dale!
I have a box that I stash all of the cocktail napkins in that I write story ideas on! Believe it or not…LOL!…I get a ton of ideas during my daily Happy Hours. In fact, my servers know to just leave a pile of cocktail napkins on my table, because they know I use ‘em to write on.
Dale, thanks for sharing, this happens often to me as well “when you stop doing something else, stare into space for a moment, and then mumble, “Oh, baby … yeah.”
I’m so glad to see this topic today. I’m midway through a story right now, and BOOM! Out of the blue a new story idea took shape over the weekend. I’ve jotted down a few main ideas, and am trying to quiet the voices for now, but it’s really hard. It’s going to be a fun one to write. I like the idea of keeping a project file on my laptop. I tend to jot on paper, but rarely the same notebook twice…
Michelle, the same for me, right away I also try to quiet the voices/ideas by writing them down so that I can continue on with my current WIP:) Your project file on your laptop sounds like a great place to keep your ideas.
The only time I had writer’s block was when writing my first ms years ago. I believe I had it because I had no plan of how it was going to be, I just wrote it. Now that I write chapter summaries of what happens for my books, I don’t get it so much. As to too many ideas, you should see all the notepads and folders of ideas I have. I recently went through some of my pads and found more story ideas that I had had over the years, and thought I must write that but when! I used to write one novel at a time, as I can only concentrate on one major wip per time, but recently I have started to revise one story in the morning and another major one in the afternoon, making more of my time.
Julie- I too only write one novel at a time, but also add in short stories or blog posts. Sounds like you are making the most of your time “revise one story in the morning and another major one in the afternoon, making more of my time.”
Fab post, Lois! I always have a zillion ideas and do keep a notebook, as well as docs on the computer — and yes, cocktail napkins, too.
The other aspect of this that plagues me are the ideas that pop up for possibilities WITHIN the novel I’m writing, so that I find myself wanting to change course or add in something new. I know writers have to be ready for surprise discoveries and invention along the way, but sometimes the fact that one idea can fuel so many stories is a dangerous one for me.
Alicia, this often helps my novels when what you said happens “The other aspect of this that plagues me are the ideas that pop up for possibilities WITHIN the novel I’m writing, so that I find myself wanting to change course or add in something new.”
When that happens, I’ll write down as much as I can so that I’ll hopefully remember the idea(s) later on and then get back to work on the current WIP. I have a file where I keep those things that come to me out of the blue. Whether they all get developed or not is anyone’s guess.
Rhonda, it is so great that you have a place to keep all of your ideas, whether you develop them or not:) Because you never know…
I keep a Word document with ideas, some just a few words, others a half page or more of notes. I never worried about writer’s block, but always about losing good ideas. I’ve actually returned to the doc and used previous ideas as a starting point, sometimes combining one or more.
BTW, I started Bootscootin’ Blahniks on my Kindle app this am, Dee Dee. Only a couple of chapters in, I can see why you’ve been successful with this and subsequent books. Already it’s a pretty unique, fun read.
Patricia, yeah! “I never worried about writer’s block, but always about losing good ideas. I’ve actually returned to the doc and used previous ideas as a starting point, sometimes combining one or more.” Great comments, thank you!
Thanks sooo very much, Patricia! U made my day! Welcome to my Bootscootin’ and Cozy Cash Mystery Worlds!!! Happy Reading!!!
I can’t remember ever having writer’s block. Perhaps because I’ve read so many stories of how others have had it and the ways to get through it. For me, I just write. Just get words down. If I’m stuck on a story, I just write something else. Then I think of where I need to be and get back to the story.
Too many ideas? Yup. Tons of them at every turn. My next three years of writing are booked. When I get a new idea, I type what I have and then print it. My fingers are faster than a pen, so I don’t loose a lot of time getting the plot line and/or character(s) and story idea down, so I can get back to my WIP.
Many story ideas mean you have to ‘write faster’ which is great in this indie world. Write, publish, write some more.
Diane great points- I love that you do not have writer’s block, and know how to channel all of your ideas:) Thanks for commenting:)
I email ideas to myself. I have one email I send myself and I just reply to it over and over whenever I have a new idea. It keeps everything in one place. Anytime I get a new idea relating to an old idea I know exactly where to go to re-read the idea and then reply to the email. And since I use Gmail and it’s web based, I’ll never lose the email (I hope!)
If I’m revising and I get an idea to take the story in a new direction, I do have to reel myself in. If it’s going to require adding or deleting characters or changing the entire plot, I stop myself and say, Hey, that needs to go into a different book, okay? And I email the idea to myself and get back to revising. I do add / delete scenes and characters while revising, but I make sure the primary plot stays the same. I have enough work to do, I don’t need to add more. Plus, if I keep revising and changing, the book will never get done.
Christina, what a great idea to email yourself. I think I am going to try that as well:) Thank you:)