Ok so, I can't be the only writer that experiences this. A lot of the times, I'll start a project, get partway in (usually 4-ish chapters) get burnt out, and put it on hiatus, if not abandon the thing entirely. Every once and a while, my brain goes back to that idea, not so much in a 'I miss these characters' but like, 'maybe I can do better' or 'what if I tried a different approach' It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's agonizing. It distracts me from my current projects sometimes too. A lot of these ideas that 'haunt' me are like, just ideas, a set up for a premise or maybe two or three characters that seem fun/interesting. It's almost never a complete story from start to finish. (This is how new ideas come to me too)
It happens all the time. When it does, I write the new ideas down in the "added ideas" section of the file of that particular project. That is, I don't rewrite the actual (unfinished) piece, I write down the idea I have - "maybe so-and-so could be made like so-and-so" or "so-and-so could be added to so-and-so" or "there could be a scene in which so-and-so happens". Then I leave it be and return to my current project. I don't see it as a problem. If old projects distract you from your current project, then maybe the real problem is that your priorities aren't clear - you don't know what you want to do first and why?
How many WIPs have you finished all the way to the end, even if it's draft 1? What kind of projects are they? I think there is a lot of merit in trying to finish a project even if you don't feel like doing so. That's because when you stop "feeling like working on a project" it's because something went wrong and it doesn't feel right, it doesn't excite you as much anymore, so you abandon it without solving the problem and you go to work on the next one, only for the same thing to happen because you didn't solve the root problem before. The root problem might be many things, like bad plotting, badly written prose, bad character development, anything that can make it feel not right in comparison to other things. You'll naturally be put off by that, and abandon it. People say that you should work on whatever you're excited to work on, and that's fair, people work in different ways and that's fine. I heard this advice a lot when I was starting out and I favored it because it sounded easier than working on something I didn't feel like working on. But where I found merit was work on the project even when I didn't feel like doing so, I'd eventually pinpoint what didn't feel right, and boom! Suddenly I was feeling excited about it again!
I haven't finished a project in a very long time, I think the last thing I completely finished was in middle school, it was a novelization of Ocarina of Time. I have an idea I'm working on now that I intend to finish at least the rough draft of. Even if it doesn't turn out as good as I hoped, I hope to at least complete the thing. I'm actually very close to finishing it, it's just got maybe, 2-3 chapters left counting the current one I'm working on.
My current WIP is one I had a lot of passion for years ago, but couldn't work out. A sense of duty to my younger self has granted me the discipline to come back. It's not so much the project or idea that haunted me, more the feeling itself I once had for it when I was young.
Novelization of a video game? That sounds hard, good job on finishing it. I encourage you to finish your new one. The more projects you finish to satisfactory level, the more hurdles you overcome, and the more experience you gain. You don't have to do things my way but having finished projects is definitely something you want. By the way, what kind of work is your new project?
Part of that was that Ocarina of Time doesn't have much in the way of story. (I mean it does but it doesn't, you can look up the cutscenes and then compare it to an RPG at the time and see the difference) It was a kind of fun and open project to work on during breaks between classes. My current project is a silly little Romantic Comedy about a pair of master thieves (one is a Kitsune who uses magic and the other is a CIA drop out who's a technical master mind) the plot is purposefully simple, and purposefully short. It's one of those 'we really aren't that different' kind of romances heh. I was initially planning to have them HATE eachother, like for most of the story, but I started writing them interacting with eachother they kinda clicked almost instantly. I also have a few other 'side' projects I'm chipping away at, but I really need to buckle down and finish Hound and Fox. (and yes, the movie reference pun is intentional) The First draft of it is mostly going to be 'for me' and any future drafts I write of it are gonna be more for the intention of selling it as a book. I really like the female lead, she's a sassy fucker and takes no shits from anyone, but she's also smart enough to reign it in and take it seriously when the situation calls for it. She's also kinda a derp (she thinks the people inside a TV are really there....for example) The male lead is also kinda fun. He's a goofball with talent but he takes shit seriously when the situation calls for it. If I ever write anything Zelda related again, I've been toying around with a kinda comedy but also serious story that's somewhat inspired by samurai jack. It'll take place in a cyberpunk/future setting. same old stuff that happens in zelda still happens, just different flavor text.
I totally know what you mean. When I'm called to return to something I've found it for a good reason and overall beneficial. For me, it's not a matter of finishing something as much as returning to or revisiting something.
I am so haunted right now. It's probably a good thing -- answering that call to return to a work after there has been some distance and time to build fresh eyes.
