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Three?!?!?

"Three?  What would I do with three?"
"The same as you do with one!"
          ~A variation of the argument between Tevye and Lazar Wolf [Fiddler on the Roof]

I have three barebones stories in my head for Sleeping Beauty.  One is set long, long ago and far, far away.  One is set in modern times.  And one -- well -- I can't even measure in earth years because...yep...it's on another planet.  How's that for variety?

So my plan is to work on these three for a little while and see what happens.  Maybe one will automatically take the lead.  Or maybe I'll polish up all three.

Once I get them settled into story form, I'll probably try to ask some friends what they think of the stories.  Friends can say "this is perfect" or "this needs more work," but if they say "regardless of how fabulous this story is I don't think it sounds enough like Sleeping Beauty" then it will probably be scratched from the running.

And if none take a clear lead and none get knocked out of the running by friends...hmmm...I guess I can enter all three.  Providing I have enough time to polish them up.  Because three stories "with potential" are not as good as one story that is "great."

And why I am writing this...or if it makes sense, I am not sure.  It is two hours past my bedtime, and I didn't get to sleep but 2 hours last night.  Sooooo...I'm a little sleep deprived.

But happy.  Of course.  Because I have story ideas finding their way onto paper.  And that is always a good day.

Goodnight for now.

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  1. AnonymousJune 22, 2015 at 5:55 PM

    I suppose I have a bit of a similar problem. When I first learned what the fairytale was going to be, one main idea popped into my head. However, just the other day, I came up with another idea. I'm forcing myself to stick the first idea, though, because I work best when I focus on one thing. I really want to make this story shine instead of writing multiple stories that are just okay, like you said. However, if doing multiple stories works for you, that's awesome. Good luck, and they all sound fantabulous!

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  2. Esther Brooksmith (wisdomcreates)June 22, 2015 at 7:29 PM

    That's smart -- usually other ideas are just plot bunnies (distracting you from your main story) anyway. Like I said, ideally one of my three will take the lead and I can shelve the other two.
    It's just that, at the moment, none of them seem willing to give way. And they are all so DIFFERENT! I have to approach them with three completely separate mindsets.
    I think my other problem comes from my own nagging doubts that they are potential winners. It's one of those "maybe the next idea will be better" things. And I'm giving myself the whole month to brainstorm new ideas.
    Speaking of new ideas, have you heard anyone else's premises? I heard a little from Rachel Heffington and from Kendra Ardnek. Both of them blew me away with their fabulous stories that they have going. This is going to be a fun year.

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  3. AnonymousJune 23, 2015 at 7:57 AM

    Oh, that's tough when you can't seem to choose between projects. Luckily for me it was pretty easy because my first idea had more potential than the other. I've only heard of Kendra's premise in a blog post she wrote, but it sounds very interesting, especially since she's melding several fairytales together. I'm sure that we'll see more premises as time progresses. Personally, my plotting is still not as fully fleshed out as I would like, but once my story is more fleshed out, I definitely want to write a blog post talking a bit about my story. I agree that it's definitely going to be a fun year!

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