A Question

[Desiretobedesir]

Do you ever experience ADD when writing? I have four stories started and whenever I'm working on one, I come up with an idea for another and have to flip to it so i don't forget it. Squirrel... it's exhausting. Looking for suggestions on how to reign it in or if you experience this what do you do to help yourself focus.
*I only experience this when writing

 

[xxxpaulzzz]

Do you ever experience ADD when writing? I have four stories started and whenever I'm working on one, I come up with an idea for another and have to flip to it so i don't forget it. Squirrel... it's exhausting. Looking for suggestions on how to reign it in or if you experience this what do you do to help yourself focus.
*I only experience this when writing

could it be writing multiple stories is not your thing?

 

[Desiretobedesir]

That could definitely be it lol
I have to find a way to ignore other story ideas popping up while working on something else.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

What you report is common, and is a problem till you find a fix.

My way may not work for you but here it is: I create a new file for every new idea. Takes a minute. And I add to it as more comes along. Some bear fruit, most don't, and I delete lotsa files down the road.

 

[Desiretobedesir]

What you report is common, and is a problem till you find a fix.

My way may not work for you but here it is: I create a new file for every new idea. Takes a minute. And I add to it as more comes along. Some bear fruit, most don't, and I delete lotsa files down the road.

That's a good idea, thank you!

 

[NOIRTRASH]

That's a good idea, thank you!

I learned it working for the state. My caseload was large and couldn't be done serially, information for all the cases rained on me. So I hadda update files every morning.

 

[Kraveree]

Do you ever experience ADD when writing? I have four stories started and whenever I'm working on one, I come up with an idea for another and have to flip to it so i don't forget it. Squirrel... it's exhausting. Looking for suggestions on how to reign it in or if you experience this what do you do to help yourself focus.
*I only experience this when writing

Hey Desire hope your Squirrel's still in the bag.

When writing is getting exhausting it's clearly not the way to go; writing should be fun and has to be fulfilling. At least it is to me. Writing on multiple stories is what I do too. Mostly because I like the change of scenery and it helps to put a story to rest that seems stuck or confined or unwilling to move on.

When I get another idea I write it down as quickly as I can and leave it for the time being. Sometimes it will take root and flourish mostly it just remains a seed of thought. Just like Noirtrash suggested.

I think it is not a good thing to ignore those ideas but what you can do is see if the idea can be fitted into a current story. Perhaps as a side story for one of your characters or perhaps as a flashback or forward, a piece of local history, a little tease of what is to come in another story.

Another way I deal with it is to talk about an idea or concept with a friend or family member. Not all of us writers are out of the closet so it might be a bit hard to start such a conversation.

The last option I can suggest is to play down the idea by finding something similar in a movie or book or tv series making the idea less appealing or even redundant. It's not the most elegant way but it works for me at times.

Don't fall into the trap, walk around it.

 

[DreamCloud]

Do you ever experience ADD when writing? I have four stories started and whenever I'm working on one, I come up with an idea for another and have to flip to it so i don't forget it. Squirrel... it's exhausting. Looking for suggestions on how to reign it in or if you experience this what do you do to help yourself focus.
*I only experience this when writing

Is there any other way to write? Go with the flow and let it happen. When you enjoy the writing, chances are, we will enjoy the reading. I would never force-write one thing and ignore the story that my mind really wants to write.

 

[rjordan]

My way may not work for you but here it is: I create a new file for every new idea. Takes a minute. And I add to it as more comes along. Some bear fruit, most don't, and I delete lotsa files down the road.

I do something similar. I always have Evernote open on my desktop. Every time I have an idea, whether working on another story or not, I jot it down there. It's not uncommon to be actively thinking about 3 or 4 stories or other projects at a time.

I cut and paste quotes from all over in another note. Books, snatches of conversation, lines from a Netflix movie, whatever. It all goes in there as I won't remember it later. My short term memory is not a keen as it used to be. Evernote is my short term memory.

rj

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I do something similar. I always have Evernote open on my desktop. Every time I have an idea, whether working on another story or not, I jot it down there. It's not uncommon to be actively thinking about 3 or 4 stories or other projects at a time.

I cut and paste quotes from all over in another note. Books, snatches of conversation, lines from a Netflix movie, whatever. It all goes in there as I won't remember it later. My short term memory is not a keen as it used to be. Evernote is my short term memory.

rj

I remember when the MD slapped my ass, I forget nuthin. I once drove to a house I hadn't seen in 37 years. It was a rental my parents leased for a few months. I knew exactly where it was. I recall too much. So I gotta put the better stuff in files for quicker finding.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Speaking of the Devil, I hadda good plot bunny fall atop me today. Its a lesbian luv story kinda. The twist is a big surprise. So it went into a file for later. Title, plot, and all suddenly came, but I cant work on it right now.

 

[JKendallDane]

I have ADD also. Along with OCD, manic depression, and bipolar disorder. It's a constant battle trying to concentrate on anything when I can almost depend on one (or more) of those issues taking up brain waves anytime I'm awake.

I've found I can work on more than one story at a time (which explains all the plot bunnies I have caged up...gotta shove a carrot at each of them every so often) but I also discovered the necessity to seriously stick with just one at a time in order to keep them all semi-happy and me with a decent level of sanity. I can switch between stories after I get a chapter of one finished, but trying to work consistently back-and-forth on two or more unfinished chapters does little more than erect a rather ugly Writer's Block wall.

Bouncing around can be done if you discipline yourself well enough, and even provide you a possibly needed break from a story that's suddenly making you crazy, but when you have more plot bunnies you're actively working on, than you have completed and posted stories...well, perhaps you should consider juggling fewer balls.

As always: JMNSHO and YMMV

.

 

[Desiretobedesir]

I only experience ADD when writing lol. Thank you all for your suggestions. I enjoy writing very much, I think being away from it for so long and rediscovering my love for it has sent my brain into overdrive.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Today I tossed a brain fart into a story. I coulda made a book of it but it works as a biographical morsel, too. "Like, she spent two years in a womens therapy group, to find herself, but all that happened was the therapist sold her on the idea of getting a divorce then ran off with her ex." If you want a good husband, steal one from a happy wife.

 

[karaline]

I think my system is similar to NoirTrash's I try to focus on one story at a time, but I have a number of drafts on the go, if inspiration hits me for another one specifically I just jump into that file and make notes of what I've thought up and then I go back to the current Work In Progress.

 

[Desiretobedesir]

Thanks, everyone

Now on another topic, how do you handle trolls? My second story's score keeps dropping after holding above a 4 since publication. It doesn't make sense why there's a sudden drop. Anyone know?

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Thanks, everyone

Now on another topic, how do you handle trolls? My second story's score keeps dropping after holding above a 4 since publication. It doesn't make sense why there's a sudden drop. Anyone know?

My guess is you've made enemies on the boards.

My scores for this account are significantly lower than my alt account stories.

The other possibility are story cartels where the cartel members abuse non-members.

 

[JackLuis]

Thanks, everyone

Now on another topic, how do you handle trolls? My second story's score keeps dropping after holding above a 4 since publication. It doesn't make sense why there's a sudden drop. Anyone know?

Sometimes it's a 1 bomb, sometimes it's a poorly written paragraph that causes a 3 because someone reacts badly to something you've written. Don't sweat a score until you have at least 10-20 votes. By that time the score has some statistical value. It may take some time to get there in many categories.

Don't let your score oscillations control your writing. You've got to keep plugging away.

 

[HushHushCrush]

To your original question, not the one about scores: I think everybody experiences that. Playing with new inspiration and doing the more laborious drafting and editing part are very different jobs, and I think it's pretty clear which one is more fun. I think it's fine to honor the squirrel, as long as it's not an excuse to procrastinate on other projects.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Sometimes it's a 1 bomb, sometimes it's a poorly written paragraph that causes a 3 because someone reacts badly to something you've written. Don't sweat a score until you have at least 10-20 votes. By that time the score has some statistical value. It may take some time to get there in many categories.

Don't let your score oscillations control your writing. You've got to keep plugging away.

Also, if a story's generally scoring well, low votes can look like bombing even when they're not.

e.g. if the story's hovering around 4.8, it takes nine 5s to cancel out a single 3. So you'll see the average gradually increase over time, as 5s come in, and then a sharp drop any time a single 3 or 4 hits. If you see two weeks' slow-but-steady increase, and then all that increase is wiped out in a single incident, it's tempting to interpret that as bombing - but it ain't necessarily so.

 

[rjordan]

Also, if a story's generally scoring well, low votes can look like bombing even when they're not.

e.g. if the story's hovering around 4.8, it takes nine 5s to cancel out a single 3. So you'll see the average gradually increase over time, as 5s come in, and then a sharp drop any time a single 3 or 4 hits. If you see two weeks' slow-but-steady increase, and then all that increase is wiped out in a single incident, it's tempting to interpret that as bombing - but it ain't necessarily so.

And most of us forget that 1* is a perfectly valid, "legal" vote. Just one of the 5 choices. It's every bit as valid as 5*.

rj

 

[NotWise]

And most of us forget that 1* is a perfectly valid, "legal" vote. Just one of the 5 choices. It's every bit as valid as 5*.

A 1* can be a valid vote, but if a story is running along getting mostly 4's and 5's then the odd 1* is not representative.

 

[rjordan]

A 1* can be a valid vote, but if a story is running along getting mostly 4's and 5's then the odd 1* is not representative.

What about the odd 3*? Or the odd 2*? Are they representative?

If you are throwing a single die and most of the outcomes are 5s and 6s, do you throw out the occasional 1?

The voting calculation is biased against 1s because enough writers have complained that they don't like low scores so 1's are thrown out. There's no statistical justification for it.

rj