Your Novel

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1. 

   kayfortnight
   kayfortnight · Apr 6, 2013

   So what do you do when you get this wonderful idea in the middle of a different novel and you feel it's so much better that your current one?
   
   I dump them all in a document to look at once I finish a current project, but I think these ideas may explain my inability to actually finish a novel
2. 
   

   Devereaux
   Devereaux · Apr 7, 2013

   I can definitely relate to that situation...
3. 
   

   beckiw
   beckiw · Apr 8, 2013

   I think the best thing to do is write down a quick description of the idea and then leave it alone for a little while. More often than not the idea won't excite you after a little while and you can usually just file it away. If it stays around then maybe write a short story within that universe or surrounding that idea to get it out of your system for a little while until you can fully concentrate on it.
   There's always that exciting moment where you think of a new idea and get all excited and think about all the possibilities and what you could do but a lot of the time these ideas don't have much traction and so you need to set them aside for a little while.
4. 

   kayfortnight
   kayfortnight · Apr 8, 2013

   But why is it so hard to come up with ideas when you aren't writing a novel?
5. 
   

   WritingWolf
   WritingWolf · Apr 28, 2013

   Normally when I find myself in a situation like that, I will write it down. Just put the new idea somewhere that it wont be lost. Normally after that I can continue what I was working on without a problem.
   Sometimes the new idea will continue to pop up in my mind. If this happens, then I switch over. I write about that new idea until it finally settles down and lets me get back to my other project without interruption.
   If I try to write my former novel while the new idea is nagging at me, the quality of my writing will decrease, because I'm far to distracted.
6. 
   

   Caerulean
   Caerulean · May 7, 2013

   I can so relate to this. >.< Ugh. I've sworn to rewrite and lengthen a mini-novel of mine but I keep daydreaming of the fantasy novel that I plan to write after...
7. 

   kayfortnight
   kayfortnight · May 7, 2013

   Yes. I think this effect is what makes it so hard to finish, especially since you always feel like the new idea is so much better than your current one...Even though all logic points out that you felt the same way the last time you abandoned a prospective novel.
8. 
   

   KaiTheGreater
   KaiTheGreater · Dec 9, 2013

   I have several 'currently working' novels, and a notebook full of short descriptions of the ones I want to write someday, and I just pick up whichever story I'm in the mood for at the time and start writing. I never got very far this way, but at least it's fun!
9. 
   

   Ki1roy
   Ki1roy · Apr 24, 2024

   I personally have a small journal where I write down ideas for stories or characters that i can’t work on just yet. I write down all the details, and talk about a few areas that I don’t know what to do with, and stuff like that. I mainly try to just get my point across about the most important parts of the story first.
10. 
    

    Caerulean
    Caerulean · Apr 26, 2024

    Woah, thread necromancy. It's been over a decade, it's crazy. xD
    
    But yeah, for my current WIP, I have a GDocs document fore 'lore and ideas' and another one for my still-very-barebones conlang and another one for a pantheon of sorts. I go digital because I've always not wanted to 'waste' paper, but I do miss physically writing (and drawing).

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