Hello and welcome back on this fine Friday!
We’re kicking off the first week of Preptober. Whether you’re a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between it’s time to start giving some thought to what you’ll be working on this November. Of course that may seem like a feat easier said than done, that’s why today I’ll be going over some things to consider then choosing your next story.
Passion
I believe first and foremost passion for the idea is the most important thing to consider. Without passion you will be unable to breathe life into you work and it will come out flat. Not to mention that if you do end up writing a story you aren’t passionate about then the words won’t flow as easily and writing that story will be tedious and will affect you negatively.
If you’re unsure which project you have the most passion for then give these little tricks a try. You can read through each story’s idea and see which one lights the brightest fire in you. Of course this is the easiest way to know if the story is right for you at that time. If that doesn’t work then take a few minutes to write down as much as you can about each idea, then step away from the papers. After a little time passes come back and read through each description and pay attention to the way each idea makes you feel. I’ve recently learned about this trick and it helped me switch some gears for NaNoWriMo.
Premise
Look beyond the original idea. More often than not, there’s a lot more to a story than our original ideas. Also more more often is the fact that the original idea doesn’t usually carry enough with it to build an entire novel off of. It’s important to get a general understanding for the bigger picture. If there isn’t a bigger picture but you still love the idea then you could always try implementing that idea into a different story that may be in need of some substance or vise versa.
Patience
You have to be patient with not only your ideas but also yourself. Sometimes it takes time for an idea to truly form into the story it’s meant to be. Putting pressure on yourself to have a fully worked out idea from the very start isn’t going to help things, especially if you have more than one idea to choose from. Having patience with yourself and your work will get you a long way and before you know it the right idea will land in your lap.
Playing
This is more of a fun filled technique that I resort to sometimes when nothing else is working. If you have a dart board on hand it only adds to the fun. Give each idea a number on a piece of paper, shuffle the slips of paper around and close your eyes, randomly put a finger on a slip of paper and work with whichever idea that may be. In the case you have a dart board, give each idea a number on a piece of paper and tape that paper to the dart board, step back the appropriate distance and throw the dart. Work with whichever piece of paper your dart pierces. The wonder of this technique is that if you end up with an idea you’re disappointed in then you know it wasn’t the idea for you and you’re free to put that paper aside and choose a different paper. Sometimes we don’t know what we want until the choice has been taken away.
Be sure to keep in mind that it is okay to walk away from a story or to put it on hold if it just isn’t working for you. Don’t ever feel obligated to keep working with a story that you have lost the flame for.
I know this has been on the shorter side but those really are the most important things to consider when choosing your story. I hope this has helped you in one way or another. I’ll be back next week with some information about plotting.
Until next week!
✿ Happy reading and writing to all and to all a good day ✿
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