Tuesday, March 9, 2010

So, I had this brilliant idea

I had a great idea for a blog post.

It's somewhere in my morning pages but I'm too lazy to go look it up.  Besides, I seem to remember that it would take a long time to actually write, and write well.  That's time I don't really have today.  So, I'm not sure where I'm going with this blog post.

Oh, I remember the topic idea.  Yeah, you'll get it next week so I actually have time to write it out.  It's sort of related to my bright shiny new idea that I got last week.

About ideas.  See, for me, they're really just these little seeds that can sometimes take on a life of their own.  This new shiny idea I have was a dream I had the other night.  Really only the concept of the dream can be used since the entire thing took place in my garage.  Not exactly the most interesting setting for a full novel.

But I'm excited about this idea.  I think I have project ADD and shiny-object syndrome.  I love the development process of an idea.  There's this stage for me with an idea where nothing has been solidified and so anything could go.  My brain works a thousand miles a second and there are always little nuances and things that pop into my head.  For each project I have a binder filled with blank notepaper.  I write down all the little inspirations and eventually make sense of them.  They'll cohere into a solid backstory and mythology for the book.  It's just going to take a while.

My plans while I research for bright, shiny new idea?  Well, I'm going to keep reading for a while.  And revising Oracles Promise.  But I hope to have OP ready for betas in about two to three weeks.  At which point I'll go take a look at Lodestar again and start drafting it.  And researching more for the new idea.

Did I say my new idea is going to take a lot of research?  Because it is.  But that's okay because I have access to lots of resources for that research.  Like an entire university library.  But that's beside the point.

9 comments:

  1. Shiny things are hard to resist. Good luck with the new idea! :)

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  2. Yea! New ideas are so fun to flesh out. I love research too.

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  3. New ideas always seem like marvelous ideas, especially when the other option is revising another project ONE MORE TIME. ;)

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  4. Good luck with your new idea. I love new ideas, but I wish they had better timing sometimes.

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  5. I totally have project ADD, so I know exactly where you're coming from on this one. Unfortunately. :)

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  6. As I chug along in my morning pages I'm excited that yours are leading you places. Since I'm not allowed to re-read mine yet...I'm optimistic that when I do, maybe I'll find something intriguing! Good for you Stephanie.

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  7. Laura, aren't they though? It's so ridiculously hard to keep myself from just jumping headlong into the new idea without doing the necessary research.

    Nisa, research is totally fun when it's a subject you want to learn about.

    Emily, agreed. Unfortunately, this is the first time I've ever seriously edited any project.

    Susan, I hear that one. Why can't the new ideas come when there's nothing else that needs to be done?

    Elana, project ADD is definitely a hindrance at times.

    Liza, I reread my morning pages all the time. Mostly just skimming to catch the little plotting ideas that crop up when I write them. I love doing morning pages. Most of the time. I've been pretty spotty lately on getting them done.

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  8. Good luck with getting your manuscript ready for betas!

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  9. Hehe, lovely post! I like to see how other people handle new ideas. Some of us jump right in. I usually just shove things into the back of my brain. If they last after a few months or a year, I know it's worth pursuing. :)

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