When did you encounter 'the one' idea?

So, I'm in the process of writing a story that I'm considering publishing officially at some point.
But I see that several members here are like legit published.
How many Good/Bad/Ugly ideas did you go through before you found 'the one' ?

Alternatively, what about your published idea made you want to officially publish it?

My problem is I never actually FINISH the damn things (hence me making this project deliberately small :3) but this time I know the whole story so I'm gonna work on it til it's done.

 

Good heavens, if I tried to count up all the Good/Bad/Ugly ideas I've come up with over the years, I'd be awake all night and still miss most them.

There's no magic number. My first short story was published because my eighth grade English teacher submitted it to a small literary journal for me. The others, fiction and non-fiction, I submitted for publication because 1) they were done and I liked them, or 2) I'd contracted to write them.

 

What about just the ones you actually managed to finish? lol
My issue is like this
*awesome idea* *starts writing* *gets slightly bored of idea* *new awesome idea happens* *gets distracted by new idea to much to focus on old idea* *aww shit here we go again*
lol I'm like, not even doing this on purpose? It just kinda happens that way. I keep feeling like if I don't write the shiny 'new' idea NOW I'll lose interest in it haha.

 

At this point, I've finished dozens of pieces and published the majority of them, though, alas, some of my favorites linger unappreciated by the great unwashed of the publishing world. The insensitive cads, right?

One of the most valuable writing skills one can develop is the ability to sit down and power through to finish a story when everything from the summer to a shiny new idea beckons. Writing is a pleasure for most writers, but once one decides to publish, it becomes a job with strictures and requirements. If one wishes to publish repeatedly, it becomes a business.

Right now, you're having fun exploring new ideas. That's perfectly fine. Play with your shiny new ideas to your heart's content. When you're ready to finish something, you will.

Sigh. Chattering on this forum has been my avenue of not finishing the most complex thing I've ever written. I reckon it's time to take my own advice and dial back my procrastination tactics so I can find out how the story ends.

 

I had short story submissions that got features with one single revision (though it didn't win anything ). And I had short stories I never submitted anywhere despite 10+ revisions. It really depends on the individual idea.

 

There's no such thing as "one idea", otherwise people would only publish one book.

 

Anyone who has one great novel is a failure in the modern literary world. It's pure publish or perish. You've got to keep moving.

 

I dunno. Look at Harper Lee... until someone pulled out a manuscript she'd decided not to publish and capitalized on the success of the first novel.

 

I'm a commercial writer, not an author. Margaret Mitchell was an author. She wrote one book.

- Mickey Spillane

 

I dunno... Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all had only one great work.

 

Or maybe none and Q had four.

 

And since they were all written anonymously, nobody has any clue who the authors were.

 

They were Holy Ghostwritten.

 

It's fine to keep trying out ideas, but do be aware than until you finish a book or story, you're not going to be published. So dreaming of the day you are published is a waste of thinking time, unless you're prepared to finish your work.

If you find yourself getting bored with an idea, instead of discarding it and jumping onto the next bit of shiny, why not make yourself find a way to overcome the boredom. Change something about THAT SAME STORY. Change your character, or setting or dilemma, etc. Change POV character. Change the time in which the story was set. Combine it with one of your other shiny ideas.

Stories don't write themselves, and it's a mistake to think you'll find the magic 'one' that will keep your attention forever. There are new ideas on the horizon ALL THE TIME. But an idea isn't a story or book. Dumping stories as soon as they lose their initial shine is one of the worst writing habits you can develop. It more or less ensures that while you may be a writer, because you are writing all the time, you will never be an 'author.'

If you get a shiny new idea, just scribble down the bare bones of it, so you don't forget it. Then put it away, and forget it for now. Stick with the one you're working on instead.

Unbore yourself with new ideas pertaining to that story. Commit yourself to THAT story, and create fascinating details to perk it up rather than dumping the whole idea. Committment means you'll not only get your story finished, but you will have learned a lot of techniques and tricks in the process.

Good luck!

 

Most often than not, I need to write out a few pages to know whether an idea I thought would be good turns out to be bad. There are two kinds of bad ideas for me: 1) the idea at first sounded good, but then it doesn't work; 2) the idea is good but I cannot extend it beyond a scene (not into a full story).
I start potential ideas out as short stories, which are completely different from a full-length novel, but that allows me to test how well I can get a "vision" out of a given idea and check how involved I truly am with it.

Either way, while it is normal to go through good and bad ideas, ultimately the execution is what turns most ideas into a good story. But more than thinking of an idea as good or bad, which are way too subjective, I prefer to think an idea in terms of having potential.

 

Not novels

 

I personally can say that every time I begin writing a story that I automatically think that it is "the one". Then after a few weeks of writing it I think it is crap and start writing something else. I guess I am a little harsh on myself but then again my head is so full of "the one" ideas.

 

@big soft moose I know that personally, I've written over 100 stories without fully finishing them.

 

“When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens every time. Then gradually I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I permit myself to contemplate and I eliminate all possibility of ever finishing.”
- John Steinbeck, “Travels with Charley in Search of America”

I take comfort from the fact that even our greatest writers still struggle with the craft. It helps me to understand that I'm not a failure--writing really is hard work. So I take a break, center myself, and then get back to it.

 

It's a common problem for creative people. Too many ideas! How could that be bad, right? But inspiration is only the first part of creativity--without the discipline to finish what we start, we end up with nothing more than pretty little fragments.

I have a bunch of ideas for new pieces that I really want to work on, but I've been making a real effort this year to finish off some of my old stories and poems instead.
It's immensely satisfying to finally complete something and be able to say that the idea that started out in my head is actually out there on paper (well, on a screen, more likely) for someone else to enjoy. And the more I focus on completing things, the better I'm getting at it. Willpower is like a muscle that gets stronger the more you exercise it.

So here's a suggestion. Make a deal with yourself--you can write something new, but not until you've finished something else. Pick an older piece that you really like, ideally one that was close to completion when you left off, and commit to finishing it. See it through, and if you struggle with motivation, remind yourself that once this story is done--really done, not just abandoned--then you'll be free to chase whatever shiny new idea catches your fancy at the moment. And then finish that, too!

 

Ah yes! I shall commit to that idea, but only problem is none of what i've written is close to the end. I start a few pages or a chapter than abandon it. I guess that's a habit I should work on...

 

I think it's THE habit to work on! All the other aspects of writing are secondary--there's no point in perfecting your grammar or mastering story structure if you're not putting them to use. Once you learn to keep your focus on a piece and finish it, then you can work on higher things like "finding your voice."

And it really is just a matter of habit. Some people may struggle more with focus than others (A psychiatrist once called me "ADD as hell," so I know a thing or two about lack of focus), but anyone can improve their work ethic through dedicated practice. You just have to really want it.

Keep in mind, too, that this doesn't mean you absolutely have to work on one thing at a time, all the time. Sometimes, when you're struggling with a piece (story, poem, essay, whatever), it does pay to put it aside for a while and work on something else, then come back to it later. And some people do work effectively on several pieces at once, doing a little bit of one here, then a little bit of another. But learning how to do that takes time and experience. If you're struggling, then you should probably consciously work on your ability to finish things before anything else.

(Now I'm off to take some of my own advice and finish something!)

 

That sounds like a good plan.

I think I'm going to be able to finish this project I'm on now, not only is it quite a bit simpler (despite being round the same length potentially) it's almost deliberately generic.
It is so genuinely a 'for me' story that's been bugging me since I discovered those CGI animated shorts channels on youtube. (CG Meetup and CG Bros are good ones)
I'm also limiting the amount of time I have to finish a chapter, two weeks max which means only one or two days off.
I'm gonna post the thing on wattpad when it's finished and hopefully get some feedback.

That's not to say my other ideas aren't 'for me' but I mean like, it's something I'd probably read, or watch the film of. Most of my other story ideas would be better suited as games rather than books or films.