I'm working on my first novel and have built it up in the 'normal' way by creating rounded characters. I also have some idea of plot elements and know how I want to end the book.

My problem, if it is a problem, is that I keep having lots of very disparate ideas for how to take it forward and can't seem to settle on one.

It started off as book about a character trying to discover the identity of a body he found in a layby and therefore explores his own identity; then I had the MC burdened by the guilt of a past incident, then I went off on a tangent about the MC being an orphan of the Spanish Civil War and then I wanted to write a quest narrative with picaresque elements.

I don't know whether it is fear of committing to the wrong idea or simply something else. It's great in a way to have created characters which spawn lots of ideas, both in terms of the story and themes to explore or motifs to use, but its also extremely annoying.

Has anyone else experienced this or can anyone suggest a way round it. Or should I simply concentrate on one thing and see it through, regardless of the other ideas tapping on the window of my mind.

Yes, I recognise that feeling very well. You're going to have to concentrate on one thing for a while, or you're never going to get a word down. But, this struck me, as a mild form of the classic (and disastrous) writer's perfectionism:

fear of committing to the wrong idea

But 'wrong' isn't the point, and nor is it a commitment. When I get struck by this fear - and I do - I take three deep breaths and stare at the monitor like a life coach, and say, 'This is a first draft. Everything is negotiable. Every word may change. Nothing is set in stone.' Or, in my brasher moments, 'Don't get it right, get it written.'

Which of these really makes your mouth water? Which is banging around most loudly in the back of your head when you're trying to do something else? That's probably where you should start.

While you're writing, remember that any road you don't follow during the first draft IS STILL THERE. Make a note of the side-turning and keep on. You can re-write the entire book, if you discover the side-turning was what you wanted. That's not the end of the world. Nothing you write is ever wasted. All my novels go down side-turnings that earlier novels ignored.

But where to start, yes, that's hard. For me, the real map of a novel is how the main character changes. What is the mental and emotional journey - often a physical journey as well - that I want them to take? Where do they start? Roughly where will they end up? And what events are most likely to shake him/her up and change him/her? I understand the appeal of the picaresque novel, but I think if it's going to be more than fun, there has to be an underlying (overarching?) drive through from beginning to end, and I suspect the way of making that work is much the same as for any novel, however many gypsy troupes or drunken aristocrats you throw in along the way.

On the face of it, maybe you can combine the ideas you've mentioned in some way. And if you can't, perhaps you can pin down what's so appealing about some of the discarded ones, and get at them in another way that's more compatible with the main thread.

Sorry, thinking aloud really, don't think that's much use.

Emma

Thanks Emma, your comments are useful - don't worry about thinking out loud! I know how I want the main character(s) to evolve and where they end up compared to where they start, but I think I'm allowing myself to be seduced each time by a new way of getting them from A to B.

A little like theme and variations in music and I keep coming up with variations!

I guess I will have to have a word with myself and just get on with it because I do know that everything can be changed, even though the thought of having to do that is daunting.

I also need to crack on with it because I've already had the idea for the next one!

Thanks again Emma.

Yes, variations is a good way to see it. Partly because it sounds as if they're not whole other ideas, but different takes on the same one.

I bet Beethoven sat at the premiere of the Diabelli Variations thinking, 'Damn, I wish I could have done that other one, and the other other one, and the one that came to me on the stagecoach from Mainz to Koln and I had to write down on my cuff because I didn't have any paper...'

Emma

<Added>

I do mean Beethoven, don't I? My music history education isn't what it might be!

I've been here too. I think it comes from creating a good character then wondering what the hell to do with them, because they can go in so many directions, unlike the other way around, having a good story and having to flesh out characters to play the parts.

Emma,

yes it was Beethoven. I think a bloke called Diabelli sent lots of composers the original waltz and asked for variations. (A bit cheeky no?) I prefer Bach's Goldberg Variations myself if only because there's always a sense with Bach's music that you are getting somewhere, a sense of moving forward, which is exactly what I need at the moment.

And thanks Colin for your positive spin, maybe they are good characters and I'll just have to write a trilogy!

I like novels that go off on tangents instead of treading a straight path to a predictable outcome.
I think you have to trust that it'll all come together in the end Sibelius, at which point you can edit out those threads that didn't work afterall.

True, though it might take a couple of decades to write with all the tangents I've got going on in my head.

Hi

Just adding my two pennies worth. Reading your original post, I noticed that you have one main protagonist - so that's a good start. He has a personal journey as well as the mystery of the body's identity thrown in. Sounds pretty solid to me for a plot! You have many sub-plots interwoven with the story - so maybe it's just getting these sub-threads in a tight structure? Like Cold Mountain, say.

Good luck with this anyway. I'd love to read a teaser of your story on this site!

Jen
x

I think everyone's given great advice. Just to add one thing that I find. That twists and turns in themselves can feel thin and flimsy unless somehow embedded or foreshadowed or really followed through. Thinking about this weeds out the things you are interested in enough to really follow through and also takes up too much room to allow to much spin-off. The ones that aren't your main interests can still be there in lesser form, if you like, or got rid of. But i think really thinking about the elements that you want to set-up and follow-through before and after the plot/twist and spend time on are the ones to go with centrally.

I must admit EmmaD's original suggestion is probably the one that strikes a chord with me. Just start writing an idea - things will become clearer as you get into it.

Many ideas only reveal their true strengths - or weaknesses - when you tear into their detail with hard graft.

Thanks all for the interest and advice

Sibelius,

you might also consider Aristotle's advice to dramatists as written in the Poetics.

He felt that subplots undermine the power of the drama, and that the most memorable, impactful dramas did not have a significant subplot. He advised writers to concentrate on a single 'action/idea', a powerful driving motivation that would carry the protagonist all the way from beginning to (hopefully cathartic) end.

He also advised writers to concentrate less on the development of character than on plot. He felt that the greatest aspects of character are actually revealed through plot than any other way. A very powerful 'sequence of events' was, according to him, the most important component of drama. It was also his opinion that of all the components of drama (character, dialogue, etc), the 'sequence of events' was the hardest to master.

I get this too. I have three possible outcomes for my novella-in-progress, and it has stopped me from writig further. However, I sketch out all three, and then decide which works best. Emma's comments are as useful as ever.

JB

Thanks Maria and JB. It's a case of too many ideas spoil the plot. I just need to stop getting excited by each successive one and stick to something no matter how tempting other things seem - otherwise I'm going to get nowhere.