Last year I started planning this story... a twist on Sleeping Beauty. I worked on the plot for a few months, but I couldn't get it all straightened out in my mind. I was too close to it, and I had so many ideas that I couldn't piece them together. I finally gave up on it, thinking it was a lost cause.
Today I was sitting at work, looking through my writing folder. I have a lot of documents that I didn't label very clearly, so they sit in that folder until I find them again. I've actually re-discovered a lot of great ideas this way.
Well, today I found one labelled "Sleeping Beauty plan." I almost dismissed it because I remembered giving up on it before I got very far, but I decided to take a look anyway, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I have a lot more than I remember. I've been working on outlining the plot out of my rambling pages of notes, and I think I have a good idea of where this is going and how I will lay it out.
I now have a new project to work on over the summer, one that I am excited about. I can't work on anything unless I am extremely excited about it. This is why I so frequently stop in the middle of a project to start something else.
I think this one is going to turn out well if I can keep this energy. It is a unique idea, and I happen to love fairy tales. Maybe soon I will reveal a little more of the twist on the story.
What do you do when you run out of energy on a project? Do you push through and finish it, or do you set it aside?
~Jane~
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
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3 comments:
Oh, I totally set it aside. you & I are a lot alike! But yeah, I just set it aside for a while until inspiration comes. I was sitting at the dentist with my grandpa and grandma by my side and my grandpa was saying the funniest things & that right there was my inspirtion for some scenes in a story! And other things inspire me. Keep on writing sista!
I love it when that happens! Finding old writing projects is always fun, you're either laughing because of how much it stinks, or you're totally overwhelmed and thinking "I came up with this?"
As for running out of energy when it comes to my projects, I tend to do different things every time. I think the one I use the most though is to simply set it aside for a week, or two, watch movies and read books that are the same genre, and then re-think it and MAKE myself get excited over it again. Amazingly enough, it always seems to work!
I LOVE fairy tale re-tellings, actually, I love fairy tales in general.
I totally enjoy finding old projects that are long forgotten. Sometimes I'm able to take 2 or 3 old ideas I had, that just weren't enough for me to write a story, and twist each one just a bit, to create an even bigger, better story. But I'm sure this is how many writers work. I just happen to find it to be very awesome when I can do it.
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