Choosing a Story (Alisa M. Libby)
First, I want to thank Cheryl for her post "How Do You Know Which Story to Work On?" which is making me brave about this blog post. I've been struggling with this issue for a long time. I'm usually a one-book-at-a-time girl, but lately I've been floating around from one potentially promising idea to another, working on things in cycles. But I might not finish anything if I don't allow myself to completely inhabit the book I'm writing, pushing aside other distractions (as pretty and interesting as they may be).
It's scary to choose just one. A new idea is so shiny and filled with possibility. It's not until I start writing and hit that "middle muddle" and realize "wait, this thing needs a plot - what does all of this mean?" that things get difficult. And that's when my mind wanders over to that other shiny, promising idea. But the fact is this: an idea can be fantastic, amazing, wonderful. But an idea is not a book. A book requires dedication, focus, work. It's not all fun, magical words tripping over themselves and onto the paper. At least, it isn't for me. I need to commit to one book. I hope I've chosen well.
And now, a gift for you. A fantastic book trailer from my dear friend, Anna Staniszewski. Enjoy!
It's scary to choose just one. A new idea is so shiny and filled with possibility. It's not until I start writing and hit that "middle muddle" and realize "wait, this thing needs a plot - what does all of this mean?" that things get difficult. And that's when my mind wanders over to that other shiny, promising idea. But the fact is this: an idea can be fantastic, amazing, wonderful. But an idea is not a book. A book requires dedication, focus, work. It's not all fun, magical words tripping over themselves and onto the paper. At least, it isn't for me. I need to commit to one book. I hope I've chosen well.
And now, a gift for you. A fantastic book trailer from my dear friend, Anna Staniszewski. Enjoy!
I've tried both, writing two books simultaneously and one on its own. I find the great thing about writing two together, is that if you hit a block on one you can work on the other. It prevents complete writer's block.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing my trailer!
ReplyDeleteI'm also struggling with choosing a story. I need to tape this to my laptop: "An idea is not a story."
It's true, it's so tricky to decide. Also, loved that trailer. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting trailer; it made me wonder why the fairy tales were "lies" and what the "truth" of them actually was.
ReplyDeleteI started working on a new story before I finished the one I was working on, though I waited until I finished a draft of the first story. But I was (slightly) paranoid that somehow the idea I'd gotten for the second story would be taken by someone else and then they'd write about it before I could. But I haven't given up on the first story; if anything, working on the second one has made me even more motivated to finish the first one.
Sometimes I can write more than one story at a time. But mostly not. I can edit one and write one, but writing two just fragments me. Although frequently, like right now, when I'm finishing a draft of a project, I find my mind revving up for something new. Weird.
ReplyDeleteNice trailer! Anna is my Sbooks housemate and I'm excited to read her book!
Wow, I can't even imagine writing more than one story at a time! I agree with you that it has to be immersive: go deep into one place and one world, and just stay there. The other books will be waiting when you get out.
ReplyDelete