Procedure for dealing with new ideas?

[chordatesrock]

I'm afraid I keep getting new ideas. Is there an established protocol for this? Should I add them to the list when they cross from premise to plotbunny? Should I put them on hold until next year?

Comments

[alassenya]

I'd say that you should put them in a separate folder unless/until you start writing prose (well, more than a paragraph or two, anyway).

[chordatesrock]

Ooh, I hadn't thought of that idea! :D

[vampthenewblack]

I usually write down what's in my head, on paper so I'm not tempted to start writing ;) And file it under 'ideas'. If it's sticky I go back to it, if it's not, well. It's not a proper bunny. I get lots of 'ideas', but not all of them are worthy.

As for the list, yeah, I'm not going to add to mine unless it's something in danger of going a long period of time as a WIP. So, when there's a decent amount of actual prose (which translates to how much I care about it and how much investment there is), and when it's gone long enough that it's not one of the things I reach for when I sit down to write. That length of time isn't very long for me - stupidly short attention span and too much shiny :)

[chordatesrock]

Thanks for the input. :)

[silverr]

Nope, no established protocol. Your list is your list, after all.

(I'm with the other commentors, though: for me it's just scene snippet (a "dust bunny") until it's reached a certain critical mass, usually by acquiring its last line /scene.)

[chordatesrock]

Do you find that your ideas get endings at around the same time as they cross from premises to plotbunnies? It sounds like ideas come to us differently.

[silverr]

Yes, because usually I don't write anything beyond the initial snippet until an end line/scene comes to me. ~ I sometimes get all flaily-electric and write one-shots all in one go (with no idea when I start how the story is going to end... until it ends) but most of the time I don't consider something a WIP unless I have a destination (i.e., ending) to aim for.

[chordatesrock]

Huh, that's interesting. It's different from how my process works.

[silverr]

I think it works that was for me because I've come to hate the looming sense of doom of a partially-posted (because partially written) story — and enjoy the exhilaration of "it's done!" — so much that I force myself to finish WIPs before allowing myself to be tempted by new fandoms. ~ And to clarify on your earlier comment - for me, it's not so much that "I get the ending when the story crosses from premise to plotbunny" but that it's the delivery of the ending by my subconscious that promotes the story from "an idea simmering in my head" to something that I actually start writing out.

[taichara]

If you're finding them really appealing, why not add them to the list?

Your list should be enjoyable, after all, and you can always remove them again if the lustre wears off --

[chordatesrock]

Thanks! *g* Yay for this being fun and not drudgery, amirite?

[taichara]

Exactly *grins*

[kalloway]

Do whatever feels right for you?

But like taichara said, if you're digging it, add it. You can remove it in the future if it stops being something you want to do.