Thursday, November 17, 2011

Simmering the Story

Have you ever had an idea that comes to you but you can’t write the story just now, so you let it sit there in the back of your mind to simmer?
This has happened to me a couple times. My idea for my first completed contemporary Western was like this. The entire time I was writing the second half of my first paranormal, I kept thinking about the characters of that other story.  

Most recently, the idea has come from a song. I was listening to the latest Luke Bryan song on the radio while housecleaning, and before I knew it, I had the basic plot of a story in my mind. For several hours, it was all I could think about. Now, every time I hear “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” I start thinking of this story the characters.

I have to finish the paranormal I’m currently working on for submission, then I want to finish another contemporary Western that I began but haven’t finished so that I can submit that one, too. But I swear this book will be the next new project I start. I may even try making it just a novella. We’ll see. I just know that by this time next year, I’ll have a story with a rodeo cowboy down on his luck, a beat up pickup truck, and a rich city girl carrying one huge secret with miles of open road to fall in love on… I can’t wait!

9 comments:

Janice Seagraves said...

Yup, I've had that happen to me too. And couldn't wait to dive in and write the thing. :)

Janice~

Brenda said...

Oooooh yeah! And it drives me crazy. I have to finish whatever I'm working on before I start something new. I have book four in my series all worked out and I'm dying to write it, but I can't skip ahead, LOL.

Kristina Knight said...

Oooh, I like that set-up, Sara! I have this same thing happen. All the time. *squirrel!!* What I usually do is use the bright shiney idea was Reward - if I hit a goal early, I'll give myself an afternoon or whatever to research or free write or character sketch. Keeps me from totally losing it. :)

Lia Davis said...

Yes, I have. It drives me crazy. I started carrying my spiral note to work with me so I can write things down. And I have a smaller one I carry in my purse. I usually have a number of stories running in my mine. I just have to write them down and force myself to finish the current WIP.

christine warner said...

Sounds like Lia and I have a few things in common. LOL. I also carry a notebook and another smaller one in my car...and I have pen and paper beside my bed because for some reason I will get ideas right before I'm drifting off to sleep...and if I don't write it down I'm lucky if I remember it all come morning. I may write down several ideas or plots or characters, but certain ones seem to push their way up front and stay there...to stew, simmer and develop.

Great post Sarah!

Sharon Cullen said...

This happens to me all the time. In fact, ironically enough, it happened to me tonight at work. I was walking the floor and BAM all the sudden this plot just appeared in my head. I have so many stories building up that I'm afraid I'm going to run out of room in my brain :-)

D'Ann said...

Yes, yes, yes!

All the time. I constantly have small scenes play out in my head. Sometimes I run with them, and write the ms, sometimes I don't. Right now, I'm working on something new that was inspired by a TV show, but I'm not saying which one, because I want you to recognize it when you read it.

Zee Monodee said...

I get this all the time too, and it drives me nuts when the idea/fully-fleshed scene pops into my mind and I have to push it to the end of the to-be-written pile as I have deadlines on other books.

A part of my brain will always be working on that new idea though - and I wonder how I'm still sane with all the stories rumbling in my head :)

Unknown said...

@Zee - You're sane? I thought you were a writer. None of us are fully sane. :P

I'm actually currently going through this. I've got an idea for a futuristic series but I really want to finish my current WIP before I get started. It helps since the current one is related to the future one, so I sorta NEED to know what happens in the current one to write the future one. Heh.