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How To Avoid Writing ADD?

Zak9

Scribe
I feel like whenever I'm committing to an idea, developing the plot, and begin creating the characters I feel so great. I'm creating a story!

Skip a few weeks...
I have a new story I'm writing, with an entire new plot-everything. How do you avoid this? I should just tell myself to go back to my previous story but, as you know, the human mind is very good at convincing itself of something. Every time, I'm CONVINCED this story is so much more appealing- so much better. How do you deal with this?

Thanks for your feedback!
 

DSCroxford

Scribe
I have a similar problem. Too many ideas wanting to get onto paper.
What I do is get the ideas onto paper and then pick one, I get quite far into planning/research or proper writing and then BOOM! A brand new idea explodes and I find myself in a harsh circle of doom.

For example I have 1 WIP that I am doing very well with (Up to the 65k words mark and still going strong) but foolishly I looked back at some older work and it all came flooding back and now shock horror I am sat here writing more for that one.

I think it comes down to self control, if a new idea does pop into your head write down as much as you can and file it. If you maybe get stuck on a WIP then go into your files and pick one to do some work on but maybe keep to the outlining or planning stages. Then by the time you have finished your 1st WIP you have a good collection of "next" works to start upon.

Just a thought, proabably not helpful though lol.
 
In my personal experience, this actually gets better over time. Maybe it comes with age or maybe it comes with experience, maybe both, I'm not sure. But eventually, as your style becomes more distinct and you learn to refine your ideas better, they should gain more long term appeal as well.

When I was younger I would also abandon old ideas for new ones, convinced the new idea was better. But here's the thing - it's very possible the new ones really were better. I was still learning, after all. Perhaps it's just your writing skills going through growing pains.

These days I find that I still want to write the old ideas - once I've developed a concept I really like, I don't discard it. Even if I get a new idea, the old one is still just as valid in my mind as it was before. So it has become more a question of which order I want to write them, rather than which one I feel like writing on the most. The one I'm working on right now I picked out from three very promising concepts, not so much because I liked it the most, but because it was the one I could see clearest in terms of plot. The other two are just as good, but I thought they needed more time to mature before I commit them to text.

Sorry if that's not a very helpful answer for you right now. I do think it helps to really nail down your personal style, though, so try to figure out exactly what kind of story you most prefer - what are the themes, devices and tropes you keep returning to, regardless of what the story is about? Also, learn to disregard ideas that don't suit your style, even if they are good ideas - you are not going to be able to write everything your think of, so being a bit discriminate about it will just make this easier. Trust me, you won't be short on ideas anyway. The ones I have right now - the really good ones - can probably last me a whole career.
 
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Chessie

Guest
I think the best thing to keep in mind is that stories do grow and take on a life of their own. If you start out with this brilliant idea, spend some time hashing it out. Take time to develop the "problem" of the story first-->expand on that-->get characters down, etc. When you hash out the problem and brainstorm ideas, so much comes to the surface. Then you can start writing scenes from that firm grasp. Hope that helps.
 

Jabrosky

Banned
I have the same problem as you do. I wish I could offer advice as to how to fix it, but I'm still struggling with it.
 

Jess A

Archmage
The same thing happened to me. I went overseas for 4 weeks and spent most of the time reworking and improving a plot because it was full of plot holes, parts didn't work at all and I didn't even have my conflict sorted. Then I came home and decided I wanted to write a prequel and change the plot yet again.

However, I ended up turning the prequel into the first book, and the other plot I reworked a bit and made it book 2. It fixed numerous plot holes to say the least and I was far happier with the way I had reworked some of the characters.

You never know, the same thing might happen for you if your plots are set in the same universe. Otherwise, try to set them aside and treat them as a work in progress as someone above mentioned - no point ditching them altogether.

Try to be disciplined and stick with what you have - if it's working for you in a productive way.
 

ThinkerX

Myth Weaver
Yes, I do get ideas for new tales all the time.

Many years past, I would sometimes stop writing one work to tap out a scene or three in another (and like as not abandon both).

But:

My real world job prevents me from writing while at work - but it does give me plenty of time to go over individual ideas step by step, determining what will work and what won't.

Hence, time comes for actual writing, I can concentrate on what will work.

I do, however, make one or two paragraph summaries of particularly promising ideas in my journal that I can't get too right away.
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
Ideas are easy. Ideas are fun because they're just the seeds of a story and their potential is limitless.

But then when you try to write and develop them into a full story, that's when some of the fun starts to fade. It's not because the old idea has gotten worse but rather because the new idea is more shiny. Coming up with ideas and even fleshing the ideas out is play, but turning ideas even if they're fleshed out a lot into a story can be work. So which is more appealing play or work? Most would say it's the former.

It's like when you meet a guy/girl. Everything about him/her is shiny and new and he/she is just adorable. But if you move into a more serious relationship with them, some of those adorable things can turn irritating and the others can get taken for granted because been there seen that sort of attitude develops. This is when you begin figuring out if its working for you. Are you wasting each other's time or is there real depth to this thing?

That's what the author has to figure out for themselves. Is this idea worth pursuing or is it not? Generally speaking, you won't know until you give it a try. Write it out a bit and see where it leads you.
 
For me its kind of weird. Whenever I'm doing good in any story, just that story, no second ones, the life decided to kick the hell out of me and I have to divert my attention and will to everything else (like partner sick, mariage falling apart, had to move back to somewhere else), when I'm free again, that story had no appeal.

But after I had the worst the life threw at me so far, I became to randomly shift my ideas, and plots and characters, etc...
The only time it really worked was when I kind of said a huge shut up to all those voices (stories and characters), then life came kicking me again...

By the way, now I'm in the shifting cycle once more.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
They're all my children. I tell each one of them that I love them best.

Especially if you are new to writing, write all of the versions! Several benefits will accrue, among which will be that you will see clearly that some are ... less good. I rarely can spot the best, but I slowly learned to spot the worst, particularly in terms of pacing, motivation, that sort of thing. Some just don't ever seem to flow. Meanwhile, though, I get plenty of practice writing.
 

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
I wrote an article for the Mythic Scribes homepage (cheap plug :) ) that discusses this topic.

10 Easy Steps to Crush Creative ADD

One of the biggest points I bring up is to do like wordwalker said and write shorter stories/novels. When tackling a large project, your mind is likely to wander more. So if the novel is shorter, you have more time to deal with other ideas. One thing I think that helps (it helps me anyway) is to have some "snacks" on deck. By "snacks" I mean short stories. Whenever you get bored or distracted with your WIP, write a short story. It will calm your need to start a brand spanking new novel and thus derail your current project, and it can prove just the spark or distraction you need from a longer work.

This has worked pretty well for me so far, so I'm glad I do it. Might not work for others, but I'd give it a try and see at least.
 
One of Phil's 10 Steps (#2) that we haven't mentioned is that ADD might be less the need for a new story and more a hunger for more action, humor, or whatever in the story you're already doing. This can be immensely tricky --a 180-turn in mid-book rarely succeeds, and stopping mid-book to rebuild past chapters usually turns into an exercise in stalling-- but it can be worth considering.
 

Zak9

Scribe
I like the idea of taking some aspects from my new idea and mixing it into my current story. Thank you everyone for all the other tips, also! I shouldn't have any more problems with the ADD faerie anymore :)
 

Jamber

Sage
Keep an 'ideas bank'. Moving on from one idea possibly means you've exhausted it in your mind, and need time away. You'll find you will want to come back to it later, and by then you'll have even more thoughts up your sleeve.

Over time you'll realise that some of the ideas in the ideas bank are part of the same thing and can be merged; others are still incomplete or have a core flaw. The point is not to throw them away or consider any time you spend on them 'wasted'; it's all part of pushing things to see what floats. Drafting a little bit here and there isn't necessarily wasteful either (though it can definitely be barking up a wrong tree) -- you have to explore an idea from many angles before you know if it works.

An ideas bank is a great way to develop your ability to build on a theme. Nothing is wasted! Eventually as others have said you'll settle down and find the one you really want to build on (and that'll hopefully be the one that has market appeal as well as a sense of being right for the times and for you as a writer).

Just my approach anyhow,
cheers
Jennie
 

Zak9

Scribe
I think it's all about self-control. Perhaps, I will just write down the idea as recommended but push it aside to focus.
 
The only way you avoid this is to not give yourself permission to start a new story before you've finished the one you're working on now. By all means, note down the idea and a few paragraphs of background in your "stories I will write later" notebook, but then finish the one you're writing now.

If it was a good idea, it will wait for you, and you'll be excited to pick it up and write it once you've finished your current project. If it's an idea that never had any staying power but only existed to distract you from finishing your actual story - so that when you look at it again afterwards you don't fancy it at all - you will have done yourself a great service by forcing it to reveal that.

Basically, if you want to ever finish anything, finish it. Finish it before you start anything else.
 
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