I posted this image on FB today because it made me giggle. Sometimes my characters DO feel like imaginary friends.
I’m grateful that writer’s block is something I rarely have to deal with. Don’t get me wrong, my creativity (and focus) ebbs and flows. Some weeks I feel like I can’t find enough hours in the day to keep up with the ideas in my head. Other time, it’s like pulling teeth. I do my best to write even when I’m not feeling especially productive, although often I focus on other things, like writing book reviews or blog posts. Sometimes I work on a story and just re-read what I’ve already written and make minor tweaks or plot out where I want to go next. There’s always something I can work on.
Avoiding writer’s block is one of the main reasons I have multiple stories going at once. It’s a very effective tool for me because if I’m feeling blah and uninspired about a particular story, I can work on something else for a while and it sparks my creativity.
Unfortunately, right now I feel like I have the opposite problem. Lately, my imaginary friends have been talking my ear off and I can’t get them to stop! I’m drowning in plot bunnies and I have a difficult time focusing on what I should be working on, namely the holiday shorts and book three of the Equals series. Don’t get me wrong, I love Russ and Stephen. I love the characters, I love their story, I love their relationship and the way it’s evolving. But I have so many other characters impatiently waiting their turn and it’s a daily struggle to focus on what I need to work on.
I feel ungrateful complaining about an excess of creativity; after all, it could be worse, right? I could be completely stuck and unable to write. But it’s hard to feel grateful when the number of projects I have in my plot bunny folder keeps piling up. I have no idea when I’ll get to them and just thinking about them gives me anxiety.
What am I going to do about it? Honestly, I don’t know. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I guess, but I’d sure love to know if you have any tips!
What can I do to get my characters to speak a little more quietly or at least wait their turn?
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