I’m in that part of the cycle where while I’m still playing some Mass Effect (replaying as a different character, taking my time this time around), I’m doing some writing in my free time as well. I’ve just about worked the fanfic out of my system, so it’s almost time to start something new. The kicker? I don’t know what to start next.
I guess in a way it’s better to have too many ideas than not enough? Efforts to multitask on writing projects rarely work out for me, though I guess I can give it another try. I’m at the point where I feel like I need to be doing something, but I just haven’t made a decision yet. My life is incomplete without organized lists and spreadsheets, so I might as well throw one of the former up on the blog to help me think out loud.
Option 1) The next in the Skies series – The first two books hovered around the 30K word mark, so in theory, if I want to keep Book 3 around the same length, it shouldn’t take me terribly long. (However, we all know about theory and practice….) I have the first two thirds of the book plotted out in detail and I know what I want to do there. The catch? I have NO idea how to end it. There are two main conflicts throughout the story, I know how one is going to be resolved, but I’m really not sure about the other one. I suppose I could jump in, see where the story takes me, and decide when I get to that point, but I’ve never started a major project without knowing what the end was going to be before.
Option 2) The Disintegration sequel – I’ve received inquiries about what’s going on with this, and I do want to go revisit the characters. The nerd in me will also admit that since I’m still on a bit of a gaming kick, the basic plot of this one is appealing, as it’s used in so many games: assemble a team of varied, colorful characters and go kick some ass. I have almost the opposite problem as with Option 1, interestingly enough: while I have all the main events sketched out from beginning to end, there are a lot of gaps to fill in between the points. Again, I guess I could just jump right in and see where it takes me.
Option 3) Another novella for Decadent Publishing’s 1 Night Stand series – This idea is pretty solid and fleshed out in my mind. However, my first story with them isn’t due to be released until January-ish, and while it’s a popular series, I kind of want to see how the first one goes before writing another one for it (totally unrelated to my first). I can’t quite put my finger on why I feel this way, but my gut is telling me to wait on this one.
So there’s my organized whining for now. In the grand scheme of things, these aren’t awful problems to have and I know that all of these stories will get written out sooner or later. In case you haven’t realized, though, my Type A personality is always lost without a definitive PLAN!