How do you choose?

[Admiral2]

I'm going to do something I rarely do, which is ask my fellow writers for help. I just have to because I'm driving myself nuts.

As my loyal readers know I have a, shall we say, "spotty" record when it comes to completing my fanfiction. The usual suspects, Real Life and Writer's Block, are only part of the problem. The real culprit is the fact that I always fall into the trap of starting multiple projects. I can literally be inspired by watching three different TV shows in succession, leaving me with three different story ideas, and in my general impatient manner I'll start writing them all. (This, BTW, is why I put no stock in the idea of waiting to be inspired to write a story. I can be inspired by practically anything, which does nothing but give me more work to do.)

So here I am with a bunch of incomplete stories, and every now and then I come to the blindingly obvious realization that if I don't buckle down and finish one story I'll never finish any, but then I run into my impatience and greed, which want to finish them all, now, at like the same time. Cause I'm impatient and greedy.

So that's where I am, and my question is have any of you been here and if so how did you finally decide what story to focus on? (I suppose eenie-meenie-miney-moe is an option but I'm never satisfied with the results...)

 

[Methos]

i'm the same to be honest, i've got multiple stories on the go and have a 'spotty' at best, track record for finishing them lol

if i'm looking to get back to a specific story, then i try and emmerse myself in the crossovers i'm using... like currently my major one is an Iron Man / Buffy / Star Trek crossover, which is actually flowing quite nicely surprisingly...

But i've had problems before with writers block / real life / general apathy, when it comes to continuing a story... typically the way i deal with it is read through the last 3 chapters of the ones i want to continue, and see if anything jumps to my mind while reading, sparking the muse again so to speak... doesn't always work, and more often then not it ends with me rewriting the last chapter of the fic and then continuing from there lol

M

 

[Admiral2]

i'm the same to be honest, i've got multiple stories on the go and have a 'spotty' at best, track record for finishing them lol

if i'm looking to get back to a specific story, then i try and emmerse myself in the crossovers i'm using... like currently my major one is an Iron Man / Buffy / Star Trek crossover, which is actually flowing quite nicely surprisingly...

Won't work. I have crossover ideas but I haven't actually started them yet. I'd just end up with a couple more stories I'm making no progress on.

But i've had problems before with writers block / real life / general apathy, when it comes to continuing a story... typically the way i deal with it is read through the last 3 chapters of the ones i want to continue, and see if anything jumps to my mind while reading, sparking the muse again so to speak... doesn't always work, and more often then not it ends with me rewriting the last chapter of the fic and then continuing from there lol

M

I've done that too, and it does work on occasion, but you need to choose the story to work on first, which I can't...cause I'm impatient and greedy...

 

[Methos]

ahh and there in lies the problem...

we seriously need a way to hook our brains directly upto computers, so we can just sit there and run through the chapters in our minds, picturing the scenes, and having the computer 'dictate' them into text lol

M

 

[Admiral2]

ahh and there in lies the problem...

we seriously need a way to hook our brains directly upto computers, so we can just sit there and run through the chapters in our minds, picturing the scenes, and having the computer 'dictate' them into text lol

M

Well, obviously, but Microsoft and Apple are still dragging their feet on that!

 

[Methos]

wouldn't hold out much hope on microsoft ever creating it lol

and i wouldn't touch apple tech if you paid me...

damnit... back to manually typing then

M

 

[Admiral2]

Well, there's some hope. What about that company that makes helmet-mounted targeting systems for helmets for fighter pilots? there must ne some way to apply that tech to the task at hand...

 

[Methos]

yeah but that would only allow for an optical interface, we'd need a direct link to the creative regions of the brain...

M

 

[Admiral2]

yeah but that would only allow for an optical interface, we'd need a direct link to the creative regions of the brain...

M

So...they'd need to build Firefox...yeah, that could take a while...

 

[jespah]

What I do is to think about the eventual point(s) I want to make. That can lead me to a conclusion, and then what I essentially need to do is fill in the last third or whatever in order to get from point C to point Z (I have already written points A and B in this scenario).

I also keep a document which is just writing ideas. Big, small, whatever - and it's not just plots but it's also things like character names. Sometimes those points are put together into something different. E. g. I had a name I was considering for a Klingon and ended up using it for a Suliban.

Another thing you might want to do is combine two or more of your partly-completed tales into one.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Yeah, I have virtually the same problem. I call it writer's attention deficit disord . . . Look! A squirrel!

Here's what I've started doing, though you may not like the answer.

I went back and looked over my orphan story-lines and categorized them as:
1. Definitely worth the effort of completing.
2. Worth keeping on the back-burner a while longer.
3. D.O.A. - As much as I like the story, it just isn't going anywhere. It's done. I admit it and move on.

Where I have to fight myself is in NOT beginning new stories until I clean up category 1. Sure, I keep a tickler file for ideas and characters, but therein lies temptation to start down a new path.

At last count, I have about six works-in-progress of which I'm actively working on two. The ol' Muse went off on a vacation to Rio or somewhere, so I'm waiting for her to show back up and finish. Sometimes writing a short-story (such as for a monthly challenge) can help break the log-jam but that's just me.

Anyway, good luck with the writing. I doubt I've suggested anything you've already tried, but you did ask.

 

[Admiral2]

What I do is to think about the eventual point(s) I want to make. That can lead me to a conclusion, and then what I essentially need to do is fill in the last third or whatever in order to get from point C to point Z (I have already written points A and B in this scenario).

I also keep a document which is just writing ideas. Big, small, whatever - and it's not just plots but it's also things like character names. Sometimes those points are put together into something different. E. g. I had a name I was considering for a Klingon and ended up using it for a Suliban.

Good ideas...

Another thing you might want to do is combine two or more of your partly-completed tales into one.

But this one I can't do. My plots are generally self-contained, and in this case we're also talking about different fandoms. They won't all fit together.

Here's what I've started doing, though you may not like the answer.

I went back and looked over my orphan story-lines and categorized them as:
1. Definitely worth the effort of completing.
2. Worth keeping on the back-burner a while longer.
3. D.O.A. - As much as I like the story, it just isn't going anywhere. It's done. I admit it and move on.

Where I have to fight myself is in NOT beginning new stories until I clean up category 1. Sure, I keep a tickler file for ideas and characters, but therein lies temptation to start down a new path.

At last count, I have about six works-in-progress of which I'm actively working on two. The ol' Muse went off on a vacation to Rio or somewhere, so I'm waiting for her to show back up and finish. Sometimes writing a short-story (such as for a monthly challenge) can help break the log-jam but that's just me.

Anyway, good luck with the writing. I doubt I've suggested anything you've already tried, but you did ask.

I have tried categorizing in the past, but it's like me with outlines: it goes the way of elephant snot once I start putting words down. I can always try it again, but I'm not confident.

 

[Admiral2]

I took a little bit of everybody's advice and managed to finish something. Thank you, and ONWARD!

 

[jespah]

Terrific! Are you doing this month's challenge, perchance?

 

[Admiral2]

Actually I finished the second chapter of a nuBSG fic I started ages ago. The next thing I'm working on is a trek chapter, but it's not for the contest.

 

[CaptainSarine]

I definitely suffer from this! Still do, in fact. I find going back and looking over what I have written or the notes I made gets me excited again for older stories and gives me the impetus to carry on with them. I also try and keep at least two projects on the go, that way I can skip between them. Beyond that, RL is a b***h and keeps on getting in the way! Good luck with your writing!

 

[DarKush]

Admiral,

If someone already suggested this please forgive me but you might want to see if you can combine story ideas, if they are compatible. Otherwise you might want to cut back on the size of the stories, if you make them shorter maybe you can finish them.

I have quite a few stories left to finish, revise, and to write. One thing I started doing to cut down on some of that was vignettes which pushed the overall storyline forward but in bite sizes. It achieved the same result for me that writing the longer stories did.

Another thing might be to just pick the story you are most interested in and hammer that one out, putting all the rest on the back burner until it is completed. I think we all reach that point when we want to drop what we are writing and move on to something else, but you have to pull back, take a deep breath, and get back in there. That might be what you need to do. If you complete one and feel good about it, or even if you don't, it's done and you can move on to the others.

Also you might not want to stress yourself out about them. Writing should be a pleasurable thing. I understand deadlines and all but still you should be the main one getting enjoyment out of it.

 

[Admiral2]

Admiral,

If someone already suggested this please forgive me but you might want to see if you can combine story ideas, if they are compatible.

Someone did suggest that. Right now there are none that I could combine and have them make sense.

Otherwise you might want to cut back on the size of the stories, if you make them shorter maybe you can finish them.

The problem is I start formulating the ideas by deciding what scenes I want to see in the story. There's always three or four big scenes I want to include and I have to make the rest of the story fit them. The only way to truly shorten my stories is drop some of those scenes. I've done it before, but it's always hard, especially when I really don't need to please anyone but myself.

I have quite a few stories left to finish, revise, and to write. One thing I started doing to cut down on some of that was vignettes which pushed the overall storyline forward but in bite sizes. It achieved the same result for me that writing the longer stories did.

Vignettes is actually what I plan for the next ep of Star Trek: MY Way, but I've only just gotten to the prologue.

Another thing might be to just pick the story you are most interested in and hammer that one out, putting all the rest on the back burner until it is completed. I think we all reach that point when we want to drop what we are writing and move on to something else, but you have to pull back, take a deep breath, and get back in there. That might be what you need to do. If you complete one and feel good about it, or even if you don't, it's done and you can move on to the others.

I haven't gotten to the point where I can pick a "most interested in." That's what got me into this mess.

Also you might not want to stress yourself out about them. Writing should be a pleasurable thing. I understand deadlines and all but still you should be the main one getting enjoyment out of it.

Writing is fun when I'm doing it, but when you're staring at a document list and can't pick one to open...

Keep the ideas coming folks...

 

[Admiral2]

'Kay, the good news is I finally picked a story to concentrate on. The bad news - for this forum anyway - is that it ain't a trek story. It's a nuBSG story. For those of you curious about my progress on it, I'm up to five chapters now. Here's the link (it's Rated M for Mature!):

EARTH

 

[Gibraltar]

Hey, we'll take what we can get! I'd give you a Cylon thumbs-up, but... we don't have any of those.