It’s
an expression that’s become more and more relevant to writers, especially those
who indie publish or hybrid publish (you know: part-indie, part-traditional). I
first became aware of the term from Kris Rusch, who wrote a post
about it back in 2013. The link to the video no longer seems to work, but you
can see it here. Go watch it (it has
kittens!) and come back.
Cute,
aren’t they? They’ve become a metaphor for this new world of publishing. As
Kris says in her post, writers are no longer limited by what traditional
publishing dictates. We can write what we want, when we want, and publish it
when we want. Which can lead to an interesting problem: which story do we pick
to write?
That’s
the quandary I’m in right now. I should be working on the fifth Mendenhall
Mystery but I didn’t get far before the second A’lle Chronicles Mystery started
singing its siren song. Then, as I was flipping back and forth, I got not one
but TWO great story ideas that Just. Won’t. Shut. Up. In the meantime, I’ve
been writing short stories and sending them out into wide world.
I
feel flushed with possibility and yet paralyzed by indecision. What’s a girl to
do?
8 comments:
Quite the wonderful quandary, Marcelle! My kittens are standing in a straight line, waiting somewhat patiently for me to get to them. The poor things certainly won't be kittens by the time I'm done. :)
Kittens!! Love them. :)
I'm enjoying the hybrid world, and have plenty of stories to write, in various stages of production. Such a hard thing to juggle when there's only so much time in the day! And I find I get more ideas when I'm deep into the book I'm supposed to be working on. Those other plots are like a child you're trying to ignore, so they act up even more to get your attention. I try jotting everything down in a notebook, but not letting it take me off my path (especially if I have a deadline!).
Good luck! :D
Oh, yes, ideas abound 😎 glad to hear you have the same problem ❤️
I have plans to take me to the end of next year and then I have ideas...
The kittens are adorable. And isn't it grand to have so many ideas. I imagine one of your characters will tell you who to choose first.
@Maureen, you've certainly got your kittens well trained!
@Anne Marie, I have trouble with working on more than one thing at a time -- I don't have the mental discipline, I guess. And yes, I jot down my ideas on index cards so I can refer back to them when I have time and they can leave me alone for now.
@Toni -- I suspect you have ideas enough to last you for decades!
@Elise -- My characters are all loud mouths and don't know how to take their turn. They keep jumping up, waving their arms and yelling "Me! Pick me!"
Marcelle, Keep sending those babies out! Any one, your favorit as well as your step-child (so to speak). And I love it that you're concentrating on short stories; they're so challenging, so terse, so terrific in many ways that novels cannot imitate.
Thanks for the encouragement, Jean!
You had me at kittens! And I too have the same problem.
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