Finding Your Idea (and hanging onto it!)

Happy July! (Am I the only one who feels like it’s really weird to be saying that already? Like, isn’t it still February?)

So, I’ve made the decision to try and do a little more maintenance on my YouTube channel that’s existed for over a year now. Oh, you didn’t know I had a YouTube channel? HOW DARE YOU. Just kidding–I had only posted two videos before today! And I can’t guarantee that I’m going to do an awesome job at posting regularly from now on, but, I’ve decided that I at least want to try to make a better effort to use the channel!

That’s why today I uploaded the first of a series of videos where I break down all of the burning authorly questions I’ve heard over the past year, which are all the same questions I had before I found Blaze Publishing. I love when people ask me about balancing writing and full-time work, or how to come up with ideas, or how to get into the world of publishing. After all, it really wasn’t long ago that I was the one doing all the asking instead of just some of it! Now, I won’t claim to know everything–I still have a world of growing and learning to do–but it turns out that after a full year in the publishing game, I can actually answer a good amount of these questions and draw from experiences. So today, in honor of Camp NaNoWriMo 2017 kicking off, I decided to chat a little bit about how to find an idea (and hang onto it!)

Now here’s something else I want to acknowledge: not everybody has the time or the desire to watch a 16-minute video! If you do, have at it and enjoy! But if not, I wanted to break my information into more snackable advice below. Here’s what I’ve learned about the challenge of committing to a story:

Every writer faces it, and it comes in different forms. We either 1) Have a folder full of half-developed ideas that we’ve started and abandoned because we’re afraid it sucks, or because something more interesting came along, or 2) We just don’t know where to start.
It’s not going to come as a single, powerful eureka moment that you’re going to remain enthusiastic about forever. That exciting million-dollar idea that hit you on the freeway will become familiar to you, and you may grow bored or frustrated for a short time while a bigger, shinier idea calls out to you. Jot down a few notes about that new idea, and then come back to your project. You will thank yourself when you finish the manuscript, and that other idea will be waiting for you when you’re ready!
In the case of THE CARVER, I found that it helped me to have a sort of accountability partner, someone who cheered me on until my passion for the book could stand on its own.
Make your fingers move! If you’re stuck, write “I’m stuck” over and over again until new ideas emerge. If you’re worried that those new ideas are lame, it’s okay! Write them anyway. As they say, you can’t edit a blank page. Just get something on paper