WIPs: Also Known as Shiny Ideas for Writers.

WIPs: Also Known as Shiny Ideas for Writers.
by JLNicky

If my computer were a bookshelf, I’d have three or four finished books and the rest would be half-written, missing the back covers, white pages flapping all day long in the drafts of wind from my ceiling fan. The rattle and ripping sounds would be ignorable if I had never passed by that bookshelf. Perhaps if it were in my attic or something? But it’s not. The half-finished works are right here on my writing program index, digitally stacked, virtually sitting on the arms of my writing chair, where I plant my butt to write every day. Sometimes I knock one off the pile and re-read it. And sometimes it catches my interest again, like having a bowl of red apples on the table and I’ve taken one bite out of every smooth surface. Some pieces are left to brown and dry up, where once they were shiny and held copious juices. But I pluck one out and dust it off, carving out the brown spot, and take a fresh bite.

These are my Work(s) In Progress or WIPs. The progress might be an outline or a list of beats you plan to expand on. The pages might have the most exciting scene imaginable, or some really cool foreshadowing of things to come. I might even write longhand in a journal or typed it up on a blank word doc or create it in Scrivener. My first tip: Save it. My second tip: List all the WIPS and look at the list regularly. Otherwise, after a long while, you run across it and it has become an emotional bullnose ring that, when pulled, leads you astray from the work you need to finish (snort).

WIP
Work in Progress

Another author friend says she writes glorious stories and partway through, she has an idea and starts another glorious story. Just like the shiny penny lying on the pavement, she stops to pick up, but as a writer (Next major tip:) Continue the original path we were on in order to get where we were headed. If not, she may or may not finish the first story, but let’s hope she does because it was probably the release I’ve been waiting for. I wouldn’t call her a procrastinator either, at least not after she had her cup of ‘hot drink’ in the morning. But why does she write more than one story at a time? Is it a distraction? Is it a strange type of writer’s block? Why would any writer have multiple WIPs at the same time?

Some call it the ‘The shiny new idea’ syndrome. You can actually Google it by that name. I call it creativity. My brain never stops seeing new plots and characters. And I don’t want to forget a plot or a character that might be the best plot or character I’ve ever written. Maybe I breathe too much oxygen or eat/drink the right stimulants because I hardly ever have the dreaded ‘writer’s block’. If it happens and I find I’ve run out of something to say on one WIP, I just switch to another. I mean, a coin has two sides. Flip it. And by the time I go back to the original… I find my flow again. To avoid the emotional scarring of unwritten work, or missing a deadline, is to always go back to the original (or the work you need to finish by a deadline). Next Tip: Start every day with the original work and see how far you get.

A WIP finishing tip is to take stock of your WIPs periodically and list them with word count. For myself, every January I spend all the time I need to finish at least one of the WIPs that’s close to my goal word count on my list. That’s a new year. Start it right. I also spend November in NaNoWriMo finishing one of the WIPs if needed. That’s at least two completed stories a year. I’m sort of proud of that productivity.

A strange type of writer's block.

When some writers realize they have multiple WIPs, they roll their eyes and exclaim, yes; I had another idea and was just expanding on it. Or maybe I was working on this, and I realized I needed that. Or I couldn’t find the words for this one, so I started writing that one, and it’s much more exciting. My muse loves it. Those are all significant reasons to WIP out a story (see what I did there). But there may be better ways. And face it, the 20,000-word count is a pretty strong expansion. So, if you use Scrivener, generate a document primarily for Plot Ideas. List a general statement about them and review it often. I also found a program called PLOTTR that allows me to build a plot and save it. It does so much more than that, but let’s keep this article simple. This great software allows me to flesh out my plot before I even start writing. This usually gets me back into my original work to finish because now I know my ‘idea’ or ‘fantastic character’ is saved and I can look at it later.

Did you know WIPs all have an engagement phase? That automatic writer triggers we feel when we see one of our unfinished stories that urge us to work on it. Perhaps it has a dream scene, or there’s an ongoing conversation. Perhaps it’s based on some truth of the writer themselves, or there is a purpose for the story, like a moral. On one hand, this engagement is proactive and helps keep a writer ‘butt in chair’ writing. On the other, we get pulled astray from our primary work and drift into other characters and plots.

The story writing stages can be very different for all writers, but mostly mine look like

a) outlining
b) beats
c) emotional wringer that I actually wanted to write.

Couldn't find the words for this one.

This last one is the trigger. It is what makes me want to take flight and swap my projects for that ‘shiny new idea’. If the muse wants to play in that story for a while, and you are producing a daily word count you respect, let them keep playing. But in the morning, pick up where you left off on the original story. You can always get back to that WIP later in the day, or on Saturday.

Here is a recap of the Tips I handed out.

If you have a shiny idea, by all means, write it down. But maybe write an outline or beats in a document you can find later.

List the story ideas in a cumulative area, or in the same folder and save them.
Start every day working on the story you need to have done by a deadline. If you want to let loose the muse in the afternoon… let her run.
Look at the story idea folder regularly, even on a schedule (e.g. the first of the month).
Make a list of all your WIPS with word count (e.g. Kissing In the Tree (34569/80000, Word Count/Goal))
Set aside time to work on one or two of the WIPS throughout the year to complete some of them.
Upgrade your software or try out some trails like Scrivener or PLOTTR to build the WIPs into novels.
Avoid the engagement of WIPS by planning to write on them and by reviewing the list of them regularly to see where they are on word count. Finish up the ones with a higher word count during the time you’ve arranged.

Word Count/Goal

Here is a sample of my WIP: Homeless. Please enjoy.

Moonlight fought the darkness and the cocooned woman stared out at the nice little tree-lined street with houses and lights and porch swings. She wrestled with her misery as she swallowed back tears. Not that her life had been perfect, but it was never this endless battle. She was a career girl, thinking about the big city even in her teens. She barely remembered her youth, having always dreamed of the big corner office. Now in her mid-thirties, her family was gone, along with the country farm she’d sold after they passed. She recalled a few office parties, the big promotion to senior status, and her girlfriend. The last thought made her frown once more. The ex-girlfriend, who took off the second she found out Jesse was fired. Fired. Jesse couldn’t believe it. The company restructured, removed her position, and lost her 401K in the crash. Without a fall-back plan, she was like thousands of others, caught in the wave of fear and tossed into the cyclone’s fray. The night hours brought only a deep wish for obscurity. Her changed circumstance took her identity and left her more fragile than she was beginning to think she could bear. She looked out over the street and saw what she had become. Homeless.

Not sure of where she could legally park and too tired to continue looking, she found a small residential area behind a grocery store chain. After she locked the doors, she felt the dullness of her mind push her into sleep. She hoped to avoid being hassled by the cops. She scrunched low in her seat.

Hours later, tapping on her window brought her out of sleep. She blinked rapidly, expecting an officer, and was surprised to see two young kids looking back in through the glass. A little girl about eight, pale features, tangled hair, and big brown eyes looked directly back at her. The boy stood beside her, an older brother by a few years, their features too similar for anything else. His uninterested gaze wandered slightly, drifting around the interior of the car. Their clothes were roughed up, hanging off wafer-thin bodies. Dirt smudges were showing on their face and hands. They didn’t wear coats, and they were shivering.

The little girl motioned to roll down the window. Jesse complied, opening it by a crack. “What are you doing?” Her scratchy sleep-filled voice spoke; she cleared it immediately.

“We’re waiting for you.” The girl stated calmly, her tone confident.

Jesse rubbed her tired eyes and tried to focus.

“What are you talking about?” She dropped her hand to her lap, exhausted.

The little girl pointed to the back seat and said, “We are waiting for you to let us in. It’s cold.” Her big brown eyes captured Jesse’s darker gaze and Jesse felt an instant loosening of her recently strangled heart. The girl’s deep shiver and tightened grip between her and her brother cut deep with Jesse’s sense of protection. She reached over and unlocked the doors, motioning them inside.

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JLNicky, LGBT Romance Author