Last night three ideas, which I have had kicking around in my head for years, stood up and told that they belong together. Obviously. Sure enough they fit together quite beautifully. So now I have the setting, characters, and themes for a book. I can’t start writing it yet, because the book has the barest wisps of what may eventually be a plot. This means that part of me wants to drop everything else and study plotting so that I can write this shiny new book. I can’t drop everything else. This shiny new idea has to get in line. It has to wait for available creative time after I finish this last revision on Stepping Stones. It also needs to wait until after the inevitable influx of creative tasks which accompany opening pre-orders. I’ll be called upon to design post cards, prints, and business cards. These things will require me to blow the dust off of my graphic design books. After all that, I will be able to tackle plotting.
Even at the same time that part of my brain is burbling with excitement about projects, another part is very tired and would really like to go watch some TV now.
“Must we learn new things?” It asks. “I’m tired of learning new things.”
“Yay, new things!” shouts the other part.
The co-existence of these two mind states defies logic, and yet here I am.
Writing a book is hard even without such obligations. I’ve had a few ideas but between school and other stuff, the ideas were never realized. With any luck you’ll be able to turn your ideas into plot. I usually work on such things in my head. How do you work on them?
Right now I’m just catching the ideas by scribbling notes. When something occurs to me which might fit, I write it down. Later, when I’m creating an actual outline, some of my notes will be discarded as not useful to the book. So yes, most of it is in my head right now. The idea pot is simmering.