Joys and hardships of Plot Bunnies

They're lovely, fluffy little things that jump around and make us smile. They are there to be played with, nurtured and allowed to grow into fully-fledged adult bunnies. We love them dearly.At the same time, we hate them with  a passion.
Sure, they're cute and cuddly and stop us from getting bored, but they are a lot of work. And things get very difficult when we have a lot of them: we neglect some while playing with others.
They're adorable little distractions.

I've heard lots about plot bunnies, and the problems they cause writers, while searching the interwebs. People often get side-tracked from one plot by another and end up abandoning their original to pursue the new one - only to repeat the same process a month or so later. This definitely doesn't get things done and leaves many, perfectly good, stories abandoned and unfinished (such a waste).
There are many arguments for leaving bunnies by the way-side: "this new one is better/ more commercially viable" or "I don't like this one any more". I have to admit, I've considered dropping things before; because I have a block that I can't seem to get past, or I start thinking that it isn't really that great a story.
But - in the end - what I'd say to these arguments is: if you can't finish this project, how do you know you'll be able to finish the next?
Even if your current story never actually goes anywhere, just sits in your Documents gathering figurative dust, you'll still have gained something from it - be it the confidence to finish something else or an actual improvement in your writing. You never know, in a few years you may look back on it with a more objective view and decide it's actually worth something. Maybe with some re-writing and/or editing it could actually be a good book in itself.
What I'm really saying is: every plot bunny deserves to be played with and allowed to grow, but you can't just leave one to shrivel and die because it is no longer your favourite.

One way to combat this would be multi-tasking and trying to write several stories at once (when I was younger I often had hundreds of fanfictions on the go at the same time - though I never wrote any of them down). However, this isn't an easy thing to do and puts more stress on you as a writer - that's what I've found anyway.

So far in my writing process I haven't had to worry too much about plot bunnies, as my brain has decided to be cooperative and only focus on one thing (for once!). But two days ago it - once again - decided to throw another idea into my head in the form of a dream (though thankfully not involving any hot, blood-sucking men). I was really quite surprised how well-formed the idea was, considering its source (my subconsciousness is not known for its rationality), but I know I can't work on it at the same time as my current WIP.

What I've decided to do is put the rest of my bunnies on ice or slow-growth food while I work on my book. I write the all the ideas down, in a newly-designated 'Plot Bunny Notebook', as they come to me: including all the details or plot that I've come up with so far and any images that stuck in my mind when thinking about it (I had a lot of images in that dream!).
Then I leave them.
Let them sit until my WIP is done and dusted, then I'll get out the notebook and decide which bunny I want to write next.
Another technique, that I've untilised on a fanfiction that I'm working on, is the slow-burn method. I don't focus much time or energy on this project. Just occasionally when I'm going through a slow patch with my WIP or I need another way to get the creative juices flowing, I sit down and write a chapter or two on my fanfiction. Fanfictions don't require much character development or world-building as a novel - most of it's been done for you - but it's a good way of warming up your writing muscles before you get on with your own book. And of not letting that other, smaller, project drop.

So, that's my thoughts for the day.
Hope someone finds it useful.
Thank you to those of you who are actually reading this blog - especially RaeAnn your comments always cheer me up :)
W-O

Being You Own Worst Critic

Okay. So, self esteem is something most people have problems with. We all hate certain things about ourselves and things we would like to change. For example: I'm a huge procrastinator and bad prioritiser. I have no acting or public speaking ability and a strong dislike of bossing people around.
Sometimes these are things I go to sleep at night worrying over, thinking that they will ruin any chance I have at doing something with my life. And yet I still have the willpower to get up every morning and go about my life. So they really can't be that bad, can they? They never occupy my thoughts for more than an hour or so at a time.
Sure, I am often self-conscious and berate myself afterwards about certain things, but they don't really stop me from living.

So why is it, when it comes to things that really matter - like whether I am actually good at writing (or the subject that takes up the other half of my existence) - do I have so many more doubts and worries? Ones that keep me awake, not just some nights, but every night.
And yet, at other times, how I feel about my work is what comforts me when I've had a bad day at school. Thoughts and fantasies about my future are what lull me to sleep and give me good dreams.
Talk about yo yo-ing.

Sometimes I think my writing is awful. I think about something I wrote a day or two beforehand and think "What on Earth was I thinking? How did I even consider this as passable stuff?"
But other times think: "Wow! Did I really write this? This is good!"

What I'm really trying to say here is this: You can never truly judge your own work.
In your head you can have an idea of how good (or bad) it is, but - truly - you can never really know. This is because you can never view it completely objectively (unless you look back on it in a decade or two). Your opinion of your work will always vary, depending on your mood and outlook at the time.

So, here's my piece of advice for today:
Don't worry about what you think of your writing at any one time, your view will always change. It is others who will tell you whether or not you are any good; you simply keep writing and see what they say once you've finished.
The worst that can happen is that they say you're not good enough. All I'll say to that is: at least you didn't give up! And you will still have gained something from it.

Seriously, though; it's bad enough without you criticising yourself. Let other people do that - they will probably be much kinder about it.



Is it me, or does none of this really make any sense?
I apologise for this.
My mind is currently a little preoccupied with the hot chocolate fudge cake, that I am about to go and prepare. Don't worry, I'm not actually making it from scratch (thank goodness for microwaves); though maybe I should be a little concerned that I'm only a few months away from having to cook for myself, and yet I cannot actually cook. Hmm... starvation or ready-meals both seem plausible options at the moment.
Oh well, if I stop posting around October you will know what's happened. Feel free to send flowers to my funeral.

Sorry if this whole post comes off as a little bleak. I'm trying to instill confidence, but I don't know if it's working.

Thanks for reading
W-O

Breaking The Mould

Let me make one thing clear: I have never truly been a rebellious teenager.
Sure, I've had bad days, and arguments with parents, siblings and friends (though luckily not many), but on the whole I've been a good girl.
I do have some issues, that would categorise me as being a bit lazy and not having my priorities straight: eg. I always get writing and other fun stuff done before homework (this causes problems). But I like to think I am usually a hard worker and someone who doesn't give up on things, who does what she's told.

I don't usually keep secrets, and even when I do there is always one person I share them with - or who knows that something is going on. But not about my writing.
This is why this whole thing is rather scary for me. No-one knows about it, it's not what they'd expect of me and I have no idea how they'd react. It sometimes makes me feel guilty that I'm not telling them, but I really don't know how I'd start. I've said before that this is completely different to the other path my life seems to be taking - as in becoming an astronuat vs being a pole dancer (don't worry, neither of these are in my current plans).

My family are always trying to help me make plans for that other life; things that'd make me stand out from the crowd or get me valuable experience. But a lot of these things get in the way of writing and I either have to do them, losing me time on my book, or turn them down and face the disappointment, confusion and guilt of not doing something my family have worked hard to help me with.
It's hard to make those choices.

So, I may not be breaking out in the ways a lot of people do - certainly not a dramatically. But to me it's a big step outside my comfort zone and away from my family, and - to be honest - I'm completely terrified about it. But it's still not going to let it stop me (did I mention earlier that I don't give up on things easily?).
I suppose I'll just have to live with my choices.

Not much useful for anyone else in this post, but it's good to get these things off my chest.
Hope you enjoyed it (though I don't blame you if you didn't)
W-O xxx

Drawing On Experiences

We're always told to do it in our writing and deep down we all know that it'll make our work better. Yet some of us still struggle with it, saying things like: "my life has been too boring" or "no-one's interested in what's happened to me".
That. Doesn't. Matter.
Maybe not everything in our lives is book-worthy, but that doesn't mean none of it is. Something as simple as experiencing a failed relationship or losing a pet can be drawn from and used in the story. Not necessarily every detail (that would be a bit too much personal info), but the emotions would be the same: the pain or the grief, and could be drawn from.

This is where us younger writers have a slight disadvantage to older ones: we just haven't lived as much as they have. They have a whole encyclopedia to draw from whereas we only have a notebook or two (in most cases anyway).
But even these little things can be usable, and we can always use those wonderful things: our imaginations! Just think of the situation you want, and imagine how you'd feel in the place of your character and hey presto!

Okay, maybe it won't be that easy, but it's a way to get started. Most of us - if we pay attention to things around us - will have an idea of how people will react to certain things. All we have to do is tailor that reaction to our character.

For example: I was bullied for chunks of my childhood; not in the physical way, but certainly emotionally, and it's only in the last few years that I've managed to get out of my shell a bit more.
Well, my main character is a bit excluded from the majority of her society; so I'm drawing on some of my feelings of isolation and emptiness, to make it more effective and realistic. I'm not using everything, but just enough to make it believable.

Your book doesn't have to be your life story. But if you can't use real emotions, you're going to find the writing proccess a whole lot harder.


On slighty different note: thank you RaeAnn for being my first follower and commenter!
It's good to know someone out there is actually reading my blog :D

Hope you liked this post
W-O