Writing Ideas notebook inside story idea notes

An Intention To Write and a Notebook of Prompts

A writer must write. Once you stop writing new stuff, you become a former writer. I don’t think there’s an official number of days or months without writing after which you lose your writer’s license, but six months to a year might be it.

I published my most recent book in May 2022. Since then, the only original material I’ve written has been blog posts and book reviews. My posts are short and my reviews are informal. I don’t think of them as “real writing.” Novels, short stories, poetry, and polished essays on specific subjects—those are the real thing.

If I don’t want to stop calling myself a writer, I’d better start writing something new. Soon.

For more than twenty years, my writing efforts were directed to the four novels I call the Herbert West Series and the two that succeeded it, She Who Comes Forth and She Who Returns. There is also a collection of short fiction I published in 2020, but seven of its fourteen stories are spinoffs from the series. I lived in the world of those novels for more than two decades.

It’s time to write something different. Vague ideas have been fermenting in the bottom of the old writing vat for years. When something specific bobbed to the top, I would make a note in the Writing Ideas notebook. (That’s if the notebook and a pen were on hand at the time, or if I managed to remember the great idea long enough to write it down. If only one could find the place where all the lost great ideas end up!)

Writing Ideas notebook cover blue Mead Five Star

This is my Writing Ideas notebook. I have recently combed through it, looking for anything that doesn’t relate to stuff I’ve already written and published. I now have a list of story ideas, plot outlines, and half-baked thoughts to work with.

Writing Ideas notebook cover blue Mead Five Star

The preceding was a circuitous way to get around to this declaration: During 2023, I will write a number (as yet undetermined) of stories or other works based on those notes.

I will report progress on this project in July 2023. The idea is that once written, some of these pieces will coalesce into something bigger. Not a novel, exactly, but something held together by themes that persist in haunting me. Even if that doesn’t happen, I will at least have a number of original pieces and maintained my Writer’s Cred.

Fellow writers, what do you do when you don’t have a work in progress? Do you worry that you’re no longer a real writer if you’re not working on something substantial?

Interested in more posts like this? Subscribe to Audrey Driscoll’s Blog!

59 comments

  2. I share your feelings on this, Audrey. I feel there’s something lacking if I’ve not got a big project on the go. When I do, that brings other frustrations, of course. But between the big ones, I’ll write snatches of ideas, like you, though I tend to be at my keyboard. Sometimes I’ll get a chapter or two before it fizzles out. These set asides go into a file I riffle through from time to time – this being my vat of ideas you mentioned. I’m in such a period now, but am resisting the urge to force it, as I think these things are best allowed to come naturally, like befriending a shy cat.

    I find the observational blogging I do helps with the hunger pangs, private journaling as well, and reading – both fiction and non-fiction – exploring ideas, and unfamiliar writing styles and voices. As for losing one’s licence to write, I was trying to think of writers who only ever wrote one book in their lives, and would still qualify – there must be some.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I like your comparison of potential writings to shy cats. That’s why I always write first drafts by hand; on the computer screen the words look too pathetic.
      Observational blogging–another good term!–is a bridge to more ambitious writing, and reading is essential.
      To be fair, anyone who has completed a major piece of writing is a writer. It’s a state of mind.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

    2. Harper Lee only wrote one book To Kill A Mockingbird – I’d say she’s a writer.
      I, too, like to have multiple projects so that all get attention but to so much attention that a shy cat would spook! Love the shy cat metaphor!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  3. When I read The Art of Slow Writing by Louise DeSalvo and Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin, I changed my thoughts on how fast writers need to write. It’s okay to piddle about (unless you’re under contract, of course!) and do other things and not have a strict writing routine. Great stories still get produced.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  5. Ever since I started writing around 20 years ago, I have had a least one WIP. Whether I am actually able to work on any of those WIPs is a whole different story! It’s one of the things that has amazed me — that once I started the ideas kept coming.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. I have all the feels for this post. I think writing a blog IS real writing so give yourself some credit. I like this comment about staying in writing mode. For me it gives rise to a lot of odd and random couplets

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

  6. I’m in kind of the same boat, Audrey. I write every day, but no long project has gelled, so I find myself working on something for a few weeks then moving on to the next possibility. Plus there’s flash fiction and poetry.

    I just read a bio of the novelist, Robert Stone, and took some comfort from the fact that it took him years to write each book. I have to think there were times when he wasn’t literally writing. If nothing else, he was in the imaginative world where stories take shape.

    Maybe being a writer is a state of mind. 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. I was trained as a short story writer, so if I don’t have a book in progress, it doesn’t bother me. I just work on an individual story or poem. That said, every writer’s gestation period for ideas is different, and if the period is fairly long, that doesn’t mean the writer has lost her writer cred.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  8. I very much feel you on this, as it can be a deadening feeling when our inspiration and words are in flux. I do feel, though, that going back through our notebooks is a great way to perhaps find a spark! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Well, let’s see. I wrote 12K words in the first two weeks of this year, on a projected novella I had started in the fall and had gotten something like 25K words down before losing interest on it because I wanted to write a new standalone novel. Couldn’t come up with a standalone story, so I went back and wrote that new starting point for the novella, with the intent of making it into a novel. I’ve since lost interest in it again, and haven’t written anything but blog posts since. I have my 2023 novel all set to release, so I figure I have 18 months to work on that abandoned project – if I feel like it. Right now, I’m toying with an idea of a new novella, inspired by someone I noticed during my new pastime exploring London from the upper deck of an omnibus via YouTube. (No flying cars, but I can travel the world without leaving my house, that’s a win.) We’ll see if anything comes of that. All that said, if I don’t write anything more, I’ll not be too brokenhearted – 11 novels and 3 novellas in a dozen years is a hill I’m willing to die on. However, what I’ll do for the first two hours in the morning if I don’t write, is an open question.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. I don’t have a book of ideas, like you to fall back on. And over the last few years ideas have been pretty sparse on the ground. I have seen my wellspring of imagination dry up in my painting, and I think the same thing is happening with my writing. What I was trying to say in my bombastic way, come what may, I’m happy with what I have accomplished. And while I hope to keep writing – something, anything – I’ve got those 2 hours every morning set aside for writing – if I don’t, I’m going to try not to feel guilty about not doing it.

        I think that the same can be said for all you creative folk here who have created works that you can be proud of. And even if you struggle to do more – you’ve already accomplished something to be proud of.

        I am looking forward to what you decide to write. Personally, I hope it is a novel, as I’m not a short story reader, as a rule. Good luck!

        Oh, and in my view blogging and writing reviews count as writing and being a writer, so you maintain your membership in the guild, regardless.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. Thanks, Chuck. I guess I was thinking about stuff I’ve read to the effect that thinking about what you intend to write isn’t the same as actually writing it. But yes, those of us who have completed and published a number of works are probably lifetime members of the writers’ guild (a term I like!).
          The idea with the new work is that it will have novel-like qualities, even if it starts out as shorter pieces.

          Like

          Reply

    1. Thanks for the encouragement, Wayne! I have to get that rock moving before I get the Sisyphus feeling. But you’re right, sometimes it rolls all the way back down and I have to keep from getting bonked by it before starting over.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Sounds like a formal context under which you’ll produce and expose.
    As you can prolly tell, I’m much more in favor of an avant-garde approach. Write it and fling it forth. Some will stick and be found engaging. Others will fall flat, ill-formed or disorganized. So what? Death is just around the corner.

    In fact, jot down the first 5 topics you have, and we’ll vote on which one you should pursue first. Take our advice, or not. Who cares?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. That “So what?” feeling is a good thing at times. Helps avoid overthinking.
      Not sure I need help picking a topic yet. Revisiting the notes got me excited about some of the ideas, so I’ll grab onto one or 2 and see where I end up.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. As a self described dilettante, I think you are being too hard on yourself. You are also involved with other writers so you are not acting like a weed in an untended garden. Take off the flower pot and grow vigorously, write prolifically– start pruning afterwards.

    Like

    Reply

  13. Best of luck with your goals, Audrey. The notebook is a great idea. I have an expanding folder that contains sheets of story ideas. I just reviewed it the other day and found some still worth keeping. I have ideas, but making time to get going and actually finish the first draft of a book is the challenging part these days.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. I agree that a writer should generally write, and keep writing, but once he completed at least a book, and even more published it, he IS a writer and nothing can take it away from him. There are writers who had only one book in them, and some are famous classics for that book…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. I have notebooks like that all over the place, (well, most of them are unpacked by now and back in operation) but unless I’ve included assorted explanatory notes, I often can’t make head-nor-tails of the things. 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  16. I agree that a writer can become an ex-writer, although how long it takes is very individual. My personal writer’s license would expire once I wasn’t able to make stories in my head and hear my characters talking. Prolonged breaks, however, are among the most dangerous traps for any writer — the longer the hiatus between two projects, the harder is to return to writing. As for your blogs, you come up with relevant and interesting topics week after week, and to me, this is real writing.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Actually, I agree with you. It’s important to stay in writing mode between major writing projects, and blog posts are a good way to do that. No longer wanting to create stories, and not caring about that would be the real transition to becoming a former writer.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. Ugh. I fear I may be close to the edge of being a ‘has-been’. It’s been at least six months since I felt the urge to write. Instead I’ve been playing with visual things. Nothing wrong with that I guess, but the lack of interest does worry me. I’m so glad you’ve given yourself the impetus to continue writing! -hugs-

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. “If only one could find the place where all the lost great ideas end up!)” I wish! Lol. Coming up with an idea is the hardest part of writing for me, Audrey. I don’t keep a notebook since my brain is usually blank. And when something shows up, it becomes a monster, so all other story ideas run off and hide. Good for you for keeping a notebook and for diving in this year. Have fun! I look forward to the read!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. As someone who has also lived in one book world for 20-odd years, it does seem odd to think about other stories and characters. I’m sure you’ll get there, Audrey, and I love your notebook of ideas.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  21. Good luck! I bet there are many marvellous ideas in that notebook. I always have so many ideas I can’t write fast enough. I have note books like that too. I can’t wait to see what comes of your writing. Perhaps you will share some of it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. Glad to see your notebook!! Glad you’re writing! I always have at least one WIP and I purposefully have different WIP’s at different stages, different lengths… so that there’s always something in progress. Different gestation periods for different things. Something fun to poke about with. I think creative people are always doing something creative even when they’re just looking out a window. I’m over the capitalist idea of “gotta constantly produce” or else lose yer cred… I think just playing with your creative mind via projects is enough.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

What do you think? Opinions welcome!

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.