Decisions are hard!

[NuclearFairy]

My merman story reached a point that I think could be best served by a slice of life chapter or two. So I need to take some time to let that roll around, figure out what slice/s I want to show.

My orcs are getting all jumbled up in my brain. Which means it's time to step away from that and let them untangle themselves.

But if I don't write I don't sleep. o.o It's not pretty. But how do I decide what hopefully short story to plink away at while those are sorting themselves?

I have a couple of nearly completed outlines. I have a few really good starts. I have some that're just notes jotted down.

How do you guys decide?

 

[NotWise]

My merman story reached a point that I think could be best served by a slice of life chapter or two. So I need to take some time to let that roll around, figure out what slice/s I want to show.

My orcs are getting all jumbled up in my brain. Which means it's time to step away from that and let them untangle themselves.

But if I don't write I don't sleep. o.o It's not pretty. But how do I decide what hopefully short story to plink away at while those are sorting themselves?

I have a couple of nearly completed outlines. I have a few really good starts. I have some that're just notes jotted down.

How do you guys decide?

If none are demanding attention, then I'll start a new one.

 

[NuclearFairy]

If none are demanding attention, then I'll start a new one.

But I don't want to wind up with a WIP folder like @StillStunned 's.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

I toss a coin, roll the dice, or if all fails, combine those two ideas into one.

 

[dirk2024]

My merman story reached a point that I think could be best served by a slice of life chapter or two. So I need to take some time to let that roll around, figure out what slice/s I want to show.

My orcs are getting all jumbled up in my brain. Which means it's time to step away from that and let them untangle themselves.

But if I don't write I don't sleep. o.o It's not pretty. But how do I decide what hopefully short story to plink away at while those are sorting themselves?

I have a couple of nearly completed outlines. I have a few really good starts. I have some that're just notes jotted down.

How do you guys decide?

They usually tell me.

I'll be doing something innocent (don't laugh) and one will pop into my head, sometimes just a sentence of dialog, or something that develops a character further.

I have little control over which story wants to be told. Consequently, I'm moving many stories forward, slowly.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I'll be doing something innocent (don't laugh) and one will pop into my head, sometimes just a sentence of dialog, or something that develops a character further.

Okay, but are you doing the innocent thing innocently?

I have little control over which story wants to be told. Consequently, I'm moving many stories forward, slowly.

I might be familiar with this method of writing.

 

[dirk2024]

Okay, but are you doing the innocent thing innocently?

I might be familiar with this method of writing.

I wish I could help with this.

 

[old_prof]

Is there one that feels easier to make at least a little progress on tonight?
Enough so you can sleep?

 

[ElectricBlue]

But I don't want to wind up with a WIP folder like @StillStunned 's.

The trick is to finish each new one you start, soonest...

 

[NuclearFairy]

Is there one that feels easier to make at least a little progress on tonight?
Enough so you can sleep?

I've been jotting down notes here and there as I look through them, so far nothings caught my attention well enough to do more than that.

The trick is to finish each new one you start, soonest...

I'm still learning that trick! It is a neat one though.

 

[ADirtyPerv]

I just keep spinning plates and stories fall out, some of them completed. Others end up shattered in the trash, but I get better at plate-spinning in the process.

As for how I pick? One of them looks shiny for a moment, so I work on it until the shine fades.

 

[SmilingLez]

My merman story reached a point that I think could be best served by a slice of life chapter or two. So I need to take some time to let that roll around, figure out what slice/s I want to show.

My orcs are getting all jumbled up in my brain. Which means it's time to step away from that and let them untangle themselves.

But if I don't write I don't sleep. o.o It's not pretty. But how do I decide what hopefully short story to plink away at while those are sorting themselves?

I have a couple of nearly completed outlines. I have a few really good starts. I have some that're just notes jotted down.

How do you guys decide?

When I have some competing free verses dancing in my head, I think to myself, if my head was going to explode which one would I save first.

 

[Statius]

When I have some competing free verses dancing in my head, I think to myself, if my head was going to explode which one would I save first.

That's an excellent way to make that call. But @NuclearFairy, what's getting jumbled up about the orcs?

 

[NuclearFairy]

That's an excellent way to make that call. But @NuclearFairy, what's getting jumbled up about the orcs?

I have like three different scenes trying to play over the top of each other. o.o It's like someone took a movie chopped it all up, and overlayed the scenes.

 

[Statius]

I have like three different scenes trying to play over the top of each other. o.o It's like someone took a movie chopped it all up, and overlayed the scenes.

Anyway you can stop where you are, put ******* to block off your stopping point and write all three of them out? Block off the end of each one after you write as much of each individual scene? Maybe that'll help you figure out which one works best or belongs in sequence or am I misunderstanding something?

I've been doing this with Ria, and it takes a while sometimes but it has helped me figure out which sequence is written better or feels more natural

 

[NuclearFairy]

Anyway you can stop where you are, put ******* to block off your stopping point and write all three of them out? Block off the end of each one after you write as much of each individual scene? Maybe that'll help you figure out which one works best or belongs in sequence or am I misunderstanding something?

I've been doing this with Ria, and it takes a while sometimes but it has helped me figure out which sequence is written better or feels more natural

Maybe... I don't think my overlapping scenes is quite the same though.

Like, have you ever seen one of those pictures where they take a roll of film that's already been used and run it through the camera again? It was especially trippy when they'd do it with a dead person to try and include them in the family portrait. Still that's what it's like when the scenes get jumbled up in my head. It's not snippets of one and another playing here and there, it's them playing over the top of each other.

 

[Statius]

Maybe... I don't think my overlapping scenes is quite the same though.

Like, have you ever seen one of those pictures where they take a roll of film that's already been used and run it through the camera again? It was especially trippy when they'd do it with a dead person to try and include them in the family portrait. Still that's what it's like when the scenes get jumbled up in my head. It's not snippets of one and another playing here and there, it's them playing over the top of each other.

Got it. Probably best to review an existing outline or an opening in a different story, try to distract yourself from the orcs for a bit, but if you're anything like me it may take a day or two. Sorry for it; hate it when story ideas get confused and mixed up.

 

[Bamagan]

How do you guys decide?

Pistols at dawn, naturally.

 

[anthrodisiac]

Whichever want lets me write it. You can try picking at one and see how naturally it comes out. If it doesn't, try a different one. Path of least resistance!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I never let a good idea get in the way of a story that I am working on, and I never let a story that I am working on get in the way of a good idea.

To avoid chaos, I created an Excel worksheet many years ago. When an idea for a story comes to me, I simply create a new tab on the spreadsheet, give it a title, and maybe jot down the core elements of the idea before moving on. It is captured and there for me to play around with as a diversion until I either finish my current projects, or become obsessed enough with the new idea to make it my priority. The particular tab then becomes my storyboard for that project.

Here is a snapshot of a section of the spreadsheet showing a few of the tabs. There are a few tabs for stories already published and some for ideas that haven't morphed into anything else yet.

 

[Andreas_Kreuz]

Sometimes I have to treat my characters like my kids. If they don't tidy up themselves, I crash into their rooms and take matters into my own hands. As a result, some of the stuff that has been lying around unused goes out the window.

 

[StillStunned]

But I don't want to wind up with a WIP folder like @StillStunned 's.

I prefer to think of it as a nursery for story ideas.

Nah, who am I kidding? It's a bloated testimony to my lack of focus.

 

[millamomud]

But I don't want to wind up with a WIP folder like @StillStunned 's.

Let this be a warning to all of us

 

[NuclearFairy]

Let this be a warning to all of us

His folder is so legendary, that even he doesn't dare show screen caps anymore.

 

[StillStunned]

His folder is so legendary, that even he doesn't dare show screen caps anymore.

It doesn't fit on a single screen, unfortunately. Even with all my Writing Exercise snippets banished to a separate folder.