I've finished writing my first book in september and since then, I cannot focus on any other project as much as I focused on the last one. I find myself wondering: "How the hell did I even finish this book?". I try to choose and idea and stick with it, but none of them makes me thrilled enough to give them my time. I feel like all my ideas (I have a notebook where I write them down) are bad and not worth it. I just miss the feeling of working on ONE project for months and being passionate about it. How do I find this again? How do I decide which idea to focus on?
Well done for finishing a book. Many people never finish. Pat yourself on the back. Since you've done it before, you can do it again. Don't be too hard on yourself. Maybe you just need a break for a little while? Or a brain-storming session? Maybe try bouncing around a few ideas on the forum. The right idea will come. You'll know it when it does.
Well done for finishing the book! Yup, feel your pain. What I do is take a slice of my story or a minor character (a bit like taking a cutting from a plant) and I work on their back story. Because you are already invested in the character to some degree (you are the creator after all!) You have a familiarity with them. Nobody will ever know how you came about with your new story, especially if you change their name. For me, this works really well and as I am writing my main story I am always identifying other characters along the way for other books. It is all interrelated so to speak but the reader need never know. Just a suggestion. Best of luck.
Spend some time looking in odd places, and perhaps something will spark your inspiration. Could be a piece of art, music, a show, or even a conversation about something. Never know where you will find inspiration. Good Luck.
You've got to find the right idea—one that flows as I call it. Flows through you, as if you're not writing it but it's writing itself. I know when I've got one, it excites me in that way you're talking about.
All it takes is experience. The more you write, the less you will feel any of those things. I don't even remember a lot of books I've written. I'll get a day or two of euphoria after wrapping a book, but by then I'm deep into planning the next one and I've got no time to look back, I'm too busy looking forward. You finish a book, you send it off into the world and then you get working again. It's a never-ending process.
If you go back and read your first draft, it's probably not any better than your new ideas. Pick the best, fast write a first draft without looking back or making filler, expand the world, switch main character if a side character is more interesting and then start from scratch with a new story. Seinfeld is a story about absolutely nothing, yet people still love the show for the characters that grew out of everyday situations.
I had this issue for the last 10 years. First thing I did was stop prodding away at the story I just finished to get it perfect, and decided to shelve to take a look at it again at another time. Next, I decided on what kind of story I wanted to tell. And I based this on several criteria. One of them being how much time did I really want to invest in telling this story. My last story was an intrigue plot and it was just a lot of work. So, I decided that I would do a simple love story. Not a romance, a love story. Minimal world building. Characters with simple motives. Easy to understand plot. So, I wasn't sitting there dreading the work ahead. This felt like it would be a breeze to write. The next thing I did was started to plan the plot. And I did this by making a few notes and writing a few scenes involving the main character. I might use the scenes. I might not. The real idea was to get a feel for who these characters are and get excited about being interested in the story again. Once I knew who my characters were, I was starting to get very interested in what I could do with them. Then came the outline. Normally I don't outline. But considering that I was trying to get out of a ten year writing block, it was time for me to start new techniques if only just to keep my interest in the story.
The best thing in the world for that is a deadline. Even if you're just imposing it on yourself, tell yourself that as of a certain date, your story is done, period. Hold yourself to it. Get on to something else. Do this consistently. Give yourself however long you think you'll need to reasonably finish the book, then move on. You have to let these things go.
Thank you, that's exactly what worked last time! I decided to write this book till my sister's birthday - thus deadline and it worked. I'll use it again
