777 Challenge + How to Manage too Many Story Ideas

Kristin Smith tagged me in the 777 challenge. Thank you, Kristin! :) For the challenge you have to choose a WIP, go to the 7th page, scroll down to the 7th line, and share the next 7 lines or so.

I picked the sequel to Hurricane Crimes. The excerpt below is in Donovan Goldwyn's perspective. Yes, the sequel is divided between Beth's and Donovan's point-of-views. :) If you read Hurricane Crimes you'll notice that the excerpt below is an extremely important one. 


EXCERPT:

            Now all he wanted was to drink a beer, take a shower, and crash. He tugged open his refrigerator and selected a bottle of beer. Using his shirt to twist off the cap, he took a deep pull. He was picking up the remote to turn on his TV when his phone rang. With a groan, he walked back into the kitchen and took the cordless.

            “Yeah, this is Donovan.”

            “Meet me outside.”

            “Ryan?”

            “No questions over the phone,” his brother snapped. “Meet me outside.”

            The line went dead.

            Donovan sighed and took another swallow of beer before leaving his apartment. In the parking lot, he paused as he tried to locate his brother. A flash of headlights caught his attention. His brother’s unmarked car sat several paces away, the lights off.

             “Talk about overkill,” he muttered as he went to it. He opened the passenger’s door, slid in, and looked at Ryan. Stubble covered his neck and face, and his hair was about an inch too long. “What’s going on?”

            “Buckle up and don’t say a word,” Ryan said while backing the car out of the parking space.

            Donovan watched his brother from the corner of his eye. His hands were tight on the steering wheel, knuckles whites.

            This isn’t like my brother. Something’s going on.

Now I have to pick people to take part in this challenge. I tag Christine Rains, Loni Townsend, Julie Flanders, and Tara Tyler. Have fun, ladies! :D

Now onto the rest of today's post:

If you’re a writer, one problem you’ll likely have is an abundance of story ideas. You’ll get ideas randomly. Sometimes they’ll hit you left and right. Pretty soon, you’ll have story ideas vying for your attention. It could drive you crazy unless you know how to manage it.

Here are a few of my techniques:

1.    Whenever you get a story idea, write out every single detail. Write out all the plot points that come to mind, even snippets of conversations, so you don’t forget. Clearly label the pages and put them into a folder for later when you can work on that story.

2.    Even though you have a folder full of details for the story ideas you get, it’s also a good idea to keep a growing list of your story ideas, too. Whenever you get a new one, add it to the list. Simply writing “Story about Mars” will refresh your memory. Doing this will help you keep track of all the ideas you get.

3.    After you finish one story, consult your list of ideas for the next one you should work on. Considering which one would be more beneficial to your career at the moment will help you choose. As soon as you do, work on that story until it’s done. Then pick another.

TIP: If you get stuck on one WIP, work on another until you can return to the story you were stuck on. 

FACT: In my Liebster Award post, I mentioned that I had 61 story ideas waiting to be written. That number is now 68. HAHA!

QUESTIONS: Do you know how many stories you have waiting to be written? How do you manage too many story ideas? What did you think of my excerpt?