How to Choose Between Shiny New Ideas

I marinate on ideas for a while. I'll jot down notes about characters, plot points, settings, etc. For months now I've been collecting notes for my next project, which I'll probably draft before the end of the year. Everything was running like clockwork until another shiny idea pushed its way into my brain.

It was innocent enough. I was watching a news story on television when BAM! The news story connected with me and I began furiously taking notes. What if? What if? What if? I write contemporary YA, so I look at news events through a story lens.

Other Story Idea was like, Hey, Lady! What about me? I've patiently waited for your attention. I've withstood the weight of layer upon layer of notes as your mind worked through the details. You aren't giving up on me, are you? 

No, I'm not giving up on Other Story Idea. I just need to decide which book I want to write first. After all, novels take us a long time to write and revise. How can we trust our gut instinct when deciding which idea to pursue first? Here are some points to consider:

Passion
Which idea are you the most passionate about? Does one idea keep you up late at night or wake you early in the morning? Does one idea cause you to scribble notes in an effort to keep up with the idea? We should aim for passion when choosing which story to write.

Readers
Who are your readers? Adult women? Men? Teens? Our three sons are teens and I write for teens. Lucky me! I witness first hand what regular teens worry about. I hear about the nuances of friendship and coupledom. When considering what project to pursue next, we should think of future readers. What would they like to read about?

Heart
Does one story idea tug at your heart more than the other? This can be coupled with passion, because usually we're passionate about what tugs at our hearts. Family, friendship, first love, space aliens who lost their parents. Half-hearted ideas can grow up to become half-hearted stories. Whatever reaches into your heart will likely reach the hearts of others.

The End
Can you imagine one of the ideas all the way through to the end? Do you have the perfect twist? Organic conflict? I'm a plotter by nature. Although I don't always know exactly what will happen between A and Z, I like to know what A and Z are.

Market
We definitely should not write to a trend, that much we know for sure. But does one of your story ideas seem like it would fit the market better? Is it an idea that hasn't been tackled with fiction, and you see an opening? Has it been written from the adult POV but not yet a teen's? Is it a new concern that modern times has created?

Combination
Another option is to combine ideas into one story. I doubt this will work in my case this time around, but it's definitely something to consider. Maybe one could be the main plot thread and the other a sub plot. Maybe one character can lead the story while the other is a wingman.

For now, I have two stacks of notes going. I'm not pressuring myself to decide which project I'll write next. I'm tossing ideas around and gauging my own heart.

Do you ever have more than one idea demanding attention? How do you decide which book to write next?

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Writing lessons learned from THE MAZE RUNNER

All three of our sons have read and loved THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner. One of my 13-year-olds pestered me about reading this book until I finally relented. I'll admit, it took me a few chapters to get into the story. But once I did? I blew through it.

This author did so many things right, but I'll focus on my favorite writing lessons. (Alert! Read no further if you haven't read this book yet and don't want to know any plot points)

• Reader and main character question the story world together: Thomas, the main character, had no idea where he was or why he was sent there. He didn't know how old he was. He questioned everything because he was curious. I was curious, too.
• If you're using story slang, keep it to a minimum: this story had a few unique words--Greenie, shank, shuck-face, klunk. The author did a good job of repeating these few words without overwhelming the reader.
• Groundhog Day: Thomas' memory had been wiped, yet he kept feeling as if he'd been in the maze before. Most of his new life was new and unfamiliar, but then he saw or felt something and knew it wasn't the first time. I was intrigued, and wondered what the backstory was.
• Mysteries within mysteries: Another kid accused Thomas of being a traitor...of being responsible for their predicament. Was it possible Thomas was a bad guy in disguise? A mystery within a mystery. I wanted to know more!
• Avoid confusion: a girl arrived in "the box," with a note saying she's the last one. At first I thought it meant she was the last girl, but then learned otherwise. A couple of words would've clarified that point.
• Necessary world: with a grand story like this, I'd imagine the author could've gotten carried away with world details. But Dashner did a great job of only sprinkling in necessary details when they were important. By spoon feeding world to the reader, it wasn't overwhelming. It was a great blend of action, world, and dialog.
• End book one with something new: without giving too much away, I know that Book 2 will be in an entirely new setting. It'll include some of the characters I'd come to know, but it'll be infused with new characters who showed up at the end of Book 1. Really smart. 

My son was glad to know I'd be moving on to Book Two of the series. I'm sure I'll learn from that book as well! Side benefit: chatting about books with my boys. #win

Have you read this book or the series? What do you think of these writing lessons? And if you write fantasy, dystopian or paranormal, do you sometimes get bogged down in world details? How do you avoid that?

Play it Safe or Take Risks? #IWSG

Welcome, Insecure Writer's Support Group peeps!

Recently, I was with my sixteen-year-old son and two of his friends. We were breaking a teeny tiny little rule. I swear it was small. But still, breaking this little rule made me very nervous. One of my son's friends asked, "Mrs. Musil, did you ever get in trouble in high school?"

My honest answer? No. There were plenty of things I did wrong--I even broke some minor rules--but trouble? Definitely not.

I realized then that I've always played it safe and stayed out of trouble. I have a strong aversion to risk. I'll never be a Steve Jobs, who took huge risks with big failures and grand successes. I've taken small risks with small failures and successes.

In the publishing world, aversion to risk can hurt a writer. And different choices carry different risks: traditional, small pub, indie. Are play-it-safe writers destined to fail?

No.

Here's the way I see it: even if you're not taking gravity-defying leaps, you're likely taking huge risks for you.

• Do you write and let other people see your words? HUGE leap. 
• Are you creating new material and revising previous manuscripts, despite setbacks and rejections? HUGE leap. 
• Do you send work out, despite the stomach-clenching fear? HUGE leap.

Each time we step outside our comfort zones, we're making progress. And as long as we're making progress, success will come. It might just take play-it-safe writers longer. As Frederick B. Wilcox said, "Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first."

If you're like me--afraid to take risks--do it anyway. Even if the risks are small. Need inspiration? Check out these cool quotes I came across while writing this post.

"When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap." -- Cynthia Heimel, Lower Manhattan Survival Tactics

"Many great ideas have been lost because the people who had them could not stand being laughed at." -- Author Unknown

"Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking." -- Tim McMahon

"I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I'm not afraid of falling into my inkpot." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?" -- Frank Scully

Do you boldly take risks, or do you play it safe? If you've taken publishing risks, was it difficult to step out of your comfort zone?

Want to join the Insecure Writer's Support Group? Sign up here. The more the merrier!

One Giant Leap ... For Me!

Breaking News...Breaking News...Breaking News

Call the local networks! Call the national news! Get Oprah on the phone! Schedule my cry-fest with Barbara Walters! Cuz guess what? I'm publishing my own book!

Yep, you heard that right. After thinking looooooong and hard about it, I'm taking a HUGE leap. I'm going for it. I'm entering the indie publishing fray.

Almost as cool as the first man on the moon, right? Not for everyone? Ok, got it.

For some authors, this is an easy decision. Not so for me. I'm pretty much the slowest big-decision-maker EVER. Like, I wait, and wait, and wait. Why? I'm a big chicken. Totally.

Indie publishing has been at the back of my mind for quite some time now. But I kept making excuses as to why I shouldn't do it.

I don't know what I'm doing (Duh!)
It's a lot of work (Double duh!)
I could fail (Triple duh!)

Blah, blah, blah. On and on the battle raged within my brain. It's a tough crowd in there, I assure you.

Anyway, what made me change my mind? This post by Susan Kaye Quinn. I'm not even joking. Game changer.

I've already contacted my agent about this book, and she was so sweet and supportive. I'm connecting with professional editors and book cover designers. I took action before I could talk myself out of it. And now that I've told you? I can't back out now.

What's there to lose by indie publishing? Bookstore and library shelves.
What's there to gain by indie publishing? Control and forward movement.

I'm ok with that!

I'm nervous. I'm scared. But mostly, I'm excited. I'll shared the journey with you all as I fumble may way forward.

Stay tuned!

Have you considered publishing your own book? If you've already indie published, were you glad you made that decision? If you're traditionally published, have you been temped to cross over or become a hybrid writer? Do tell!

Conflicting Story Goals

Have you ever read a great book and wished you could go all sci-fi and do a brain transfer with that brilliant author? I totally feel that way when I read any of Jodi Picoult's books. Seriously.

I read a lot for pleasure, but I also love to learn how to become a better writer by focusing on what amazing authors do right. Like, when I recently re-read NINETEEN MINUTES by Jodi Picoult, I asked myself Why does this work so well? 

(For more writing lessons learned from NINETEEN MINUTES, click here)

Why did this book work so well? It's tough to sum it all up, but I'd say it was conflicting story goals. In Plot & Structure, James Scott Bell reminds us to not only create conflict, but to create character goals that conflict with each other. Picoult does this brilliantly. How? She embeds conflict into who the characters are.

Hang with me a bit while I mind-map these conflicting character goals from NINETEEN MINUTES:

Character: Peter Houghton
Teen boy/outcast/bullying victim/school shooter
Story goal: stop the torment

Character: Lacy Houghton
Midwife/prenatal counselor/mother of shooter
Story goal: protect her son

Character: Josie Cormier
Teen girl/former outcast turned popular/former best friend to shooter
Story goal: to fit in

Character: Alex Cormier
Small town judge/single mother to teen daughter, Josie
Story goals: protect her daughter; be a good judge

Character: Patrick DuCharme
Single man/small town detective
Story goals: protect his small town, solve the case, bring healing through justice

• The shooter experienced torment every day at school. He just wanted it to stop. Speaking up to authorities only made the bullying worse.
• The mother of the shooter and the mother of the victim, both trying to protect their children. One's a judge who must follow the law. The shooter's mother counsels other parents on how to raise their children.
• The former outcast and friend of the shooter became popular. She used to protect him from bullies, but now she's a silent bystander. Associating with him would damage her need to fit in, but the nuggets of early friendship remain.
• The small town detective often feels like he's too late to save anyone. Justice isn't always within his control. He must discover and unveil the truth, no matter how ugly it is.

I'm not sure I interpreted these descriptions and goals the way the author intended, but jotting them down helped me understand why this story worked so well. Who the characters were and what they were trying to accomplish created natural conflict. 

What do you think of these character notes? Do you ever pick apart a story and characters to figure out why they work so well? Do you struggle to add organic conflict? If you're good at it, please share your own tips!


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#WriteOnCon & Helpful Links

As many writers know, WriteOnCon started yesterday and continues through today. Holy helpfulness, it's totally awesome and totally free. Agents, editors, and published authors all sharing what they know to help the rest of us improve our writing. There is always something to learn!

No travel expenses (Yay!) and you can watch and learn at home (Yay!). Even if you're busy shuttling kids to and from summer activities (Who, me?), the information is archived and can be absorbed at a later date.

In case you haven't been over there yet, here's what you can find:

• Schedule of events and archived posts are here.
• Live chats take place here.
• Help with opening pages, queries, and critique partner match-ups take place in the forums. New topics in the forums are here.

The founders/organizers and speakers are so generous with their time. Big thanks to them!

Something else awesome in the blogosphere this week. If you don't follow Elizabeth S. Craig, I highly recommend you fix that. Stat! I subscribe to her blog via email. Each of her posts are super helpful, especially since she posts about being a hybrid writer (traditionally and self-published). Each week she compiles a Twitter roundup of the best tweets for writers, and all this information is organized in her Writer's Knowledge Base (also linked in my sidebar).

Anyway, her recent post Using Blog Posts as Resources is a huge help. There were resources packed in this post that I hadn't heard of before. Elizabeth returns to these posts again and again, and that alone made me want to read each one. Check 'em all out. They're great.

Have you been consistently writing during the summer? Have you attended any writer's conferences? Are you hanging out at WriteOnCon? What's your favorite lesson you've learned from a writer's conference? Please share!

Irrational Fears #IWSG

Welcome, Insecure Writer's Support Group!

Do you have fears? Would someone else say your fears are irrational? Sometimes we can recognize that our own fears don't make sense. Like, when I was young and had Shaun Cassidy's album on display (showing my age) I feared he was watching me. Totally irrational.

But what if we have real fears--situations that truly scare us--but most people think they're irrational? How do we reconcile reality vs. perception?

For instance, I have a real fear of writing conferences. Is it the large group of people? After all, I have no problem going to a concert in the park or a football game. But lots of writers in a ginormous setting? Scary as heck for me.

Maybe it's the "club" vibe. Like, everyone is in the exclusive club and I'm on the outside trying to gain membership. Silly, I know, because SCBWI is an open and warm environment where everyone is welcomed and appreciated.

Last weekend was the annual SCBWI summer conference. Like last year, I didn't register for the event. I live within driving distance, so I buzzed down for my agency cocktail party and also had dinner with my lovely friend, Leslie Rose. Leslie introduced me to other super sweet writers, and I realized they weren't clubbish at all.

So...reality vs. perception? I need to get it through my thick head that this crowd of people isn't scary. This isn't a shi shi club I need to worm my way into. I'm a part of it already...everyone is. I can be a bit thickheaded, even slow when it comes to overcoming irrational fears. But I'm working on it. I promise. Even if Shaun Cassidy's watching me.

Here are a few quotes that help me when I'm feeling fearful:

"Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them." -- Brendan Francis

"There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them." -- Andre Gide

"To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another." -- Katherine Paterson, Jacob Have I Loved

Have you attended a writer's conference? Are you comfortable with them? Inspired? Do you have other fears that may seem irrational?

(Me and my super sweet agent, Karen Grencik)

(Those super sweet writers: Leslie Rose, Monica Bustamonte Wagner, Evelyn Ehrlich, and Anna Shinoda)