Shiny object syndrome.
Shiny object syndrome is the situation where people focus undue attention on an idea that is new and trendy, yet drop it in its entirety as soon as something new can take its place.
(Courtesy of Wikipedia)
You could say this is a problem I have. And you’d be right.
I love writing. It’s one of my simple joys. You know what I don’t love, though? Actually telling a story. From beginning to end. That bit’s harder than it looks.
My usual workflow goes something like:
- Come up with a story idea in my head
- Have the idea rattling around in my head for a few days
- Roughly outline the plot, flesh out the characters a bit
- Start to write the story
- The plot ends up veering away from the outline I wrote before
- Get stuck on some plot point somewhere
- ‘Step away’ from the story for a while (‘I’m not abandoning it, honest!‘)
- Come up with new story idea, rinse and repeat.
This is why I have 57 unfinished stories in my ‘in progress’ folder. Fifty seven. 🙃
Okay, some of them are… not good. I abandoned them because they weren’t going anywhere or weren’t shaping up like I hoped. But the others? I think there’s some gems in there. They all deserve dusting off and finishing. Some of them aren’t even that far off.
So I’ve made a vow to myself: No more new stories. Not until I’ve cleared out the ones I already have!
You can expect to see some new stories being published in the coming weeks and months. Hopefully they’ll be good enough to publish, some of the spicier or weirder ones I’ll just post on here as free stories.
I’m looking forward to it – it’s been way too long since I last sent a story out into the world!
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