I'm kind of pulling this out of another thread, but I think it might be worth it's own discussion. How much do you talk about your WIP? Why or why not do you talk about a project before it's finished? What are the pros and cons of this? I remember a writer speaking at a conference who said your story is only interesting if people are interested in hearing about it. If people are sick of hearing about it, you're in trouble. When any of us tell someone we're working on a novel, we've likely been asked what it's about. I know I have, for sure. I'll give sort of a quick overview, but if the person I'm talking to seems interested, I'll go into more detail. But since I'm still writing it (pantser) I don't know the whole story. I think there is something to be said for talking or hashing out an idea, but I'm never looking to give a play-by-play of my story. Getting a feel for interest levels or reactions can sometimes give a writer some more direction. I know some people on here love to talk about their projects. They give the plot rundown, the character rundowns, and then ask a question where they really didn't need to give all that. And then maybe people get fixated on a detail that distracts from the OP's question or discussion they were trying to put forward. They say ideas are a dime a dozen and I think that's true. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what's on the page and nothing more. Because of this I don't share first drafts. But I will occasionally talk with someone about my story. Does that seem weird? What do you all think about talking about WIPs? (Please, this is not an invitation to talk about your WIP.)
Talk about talking about WIPs without talking about WIPs? Ah, my head! I'm on the side of just not talking about it until at least the first draft is done, aside from very vague things. Just very solitary about those pursuits in general. It also feels like I'm jumping the queue at the Denny's Breakfast rollercoaster, eating dessert before the broccoli, or watching a movie before homework, when espousing about something I haven't yet completed. But even then, after completing it, sometimes seems like I'm reducing it to a few lines and intentions. I would love it if other people talked about my book for me after it's done and they've paid money for it. That's the perfect scenario.
I keep learning not to talk about a WIP, then I keep forgetting and doing it anyway. I have to learn it over and over the hard way. I need to just make a hard rule to never talk about it until it's finished.
I start to talk incessantly about anything I’m writing as soon as I know that I’ll finish it Thankfully my family and friends love hearing about it, and that’s encouraged me to keep going a lot of the time
hmmmmm..... I talk about them a lot in my Progress Journal and to a select few while I work out how to write things. For example (not a WIP), for the past 2 days, I called my mom to talk about my presentation because I was stuck on it... and through the process of just saying my thought out loud, I was able to get un-stuck. Its the same for my WIPs. If I talk about them, it helps me organize my thoughts better. This is why I included my current WIPs in my off-site blog. Its not an in-depth rundown of plot and stuff. More like my world building and a few character details. I even did a Character Playlist Challenge, thing where the goal is to find 8-11 songs that symbolize your characters. I want to gain interest not only in my characters and stories, but the world they're in. Through this process, I realized that I'm more passionate about one WIP over the other. I'm excited to share stuff about it, vs the other one, I'm a bit more reserve, and the things i've shared makes the world seem so flat. I still dont know why that is.... (my WIPs are finished manuscripts that I'm in the editing phases of... so even though im am still working on them, the story is finished)
Exactly the same here. Each time I write something about it, I understand it better, and I find it's different when writing for an audience than for myself. I explain things differently, and it helps me see it in a new way. That's invaluable. But then inevitably people will offer suggestions or criticisms that I'm not looking for at such an early stage. It's a 2-edged sword.
Psychologically speaking you should NEVER tell anyone about difficult and long term dreams you have because you are far, far less likely to complete them.
I'm the complete opposite. If I don't tell anyone what I'm doing or working on, I'm less likely to work on it and especially to finish it. I like talking about my stories and writing. As far as long term dreams and goals, well, I've been telling people those all my life. I think it's good to have support if you can get it. And I've also had many people help me along the way to reaching these dreams and goals. I feel like if I kept everything to myself, things might not have worked out so well for me. Just my personal experience.
That doesn't seem weird at all. I bounce ideas off of people, get reactions, even brainstorm some, but I'm usually very guarded with the actual pages until I'm ready to share the whole thing.
