Best ways to use new ideas and concepts in your writing.

[Michael92]

*Note, I only remember some details from the interview I'm about to mention, so don't bash me if I don't get all the details correctly.*

A while back, I read an article detailing an interview where Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series' director Eiji Aonuma (I think it was him, either that, or it was Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of video games series like Zelda, Mario, and so forth) was asked about why he (and/or the Nintendo team) creates less new IPs (game series) compared to the past, and he cleverly replied that they always try to come up with new ideas and new ways to improve, but that they prefer to make and work those new ideas into already existing IPs first, improving their experience, instead of creating entirely new series. This got me thinking, as a writer, you often come across the same thing as you write, and sometimes you have a basic set of ideas and how you want to use them for your FF, but then you suddenly get a lot of new ideas as you write, and sometimes these are entirely new ideas, far away from the original concept...

Needless to say, both ways might work just as well, as some people handle doing multiple projects at once easily without neglecting the other, while others need to focus at one project at the time to not risk having an overload of work, ending up shelving one of them to get through with the other. Personally, I often get ideas for entirely new scenarios, but I prefer to try (if not impossible) to incorporate them into my already ongoing FF, as creating an entirely new FF just for a simple idea, might not be a wise thing to do in the long run. I'm very devoted to my work, and I've always had the perception that either I complete my work, or I don't make it at all, something that increases in chance of happening the more FFs one do at a time. That's one of the reason to why I still have to start out on my OF, that I wrote the first chapter of, over two years ago, but still haven't released, as I know that if I had started out on it sooner, I would never be able to finish the FF I've been doing for three years now. In other words, I do indeed agree with the way to look at it as Aonuma stated in the interview, as it's very easy to start working on something new, only to find out that it wasn't worth it after all.

So my question is as follows... Do you prefer to work new ideas (no matter how different) into your already existing FF/OF(s), or do you prefer to take that idea and create something entirely new instead?

 

[Germanicus]

My ideas are too different to be incorporated into each , other, most of the time. I usually just create separate stories.

 

[Winter Savior]

Do to me working off of original work, I can do world building and incorporate anything I want into my universe because for one, it's modern-isk but also holds an old world style to it with castles and what not, and the use of magic brings a totally new light to what creatures I can bring in. Heck, I've got that desert area in the story that I'm going to do a sort of western feel to it.

I've kind of covered a bunch of areas in my work and I find it a thrill to be able to be able to figure out ways to bring these new ideas into my existing story. I think that you are correct about not needing to do a new story for an idea, but find ways where 'hey you know what, if I change this in the story, I can add this and bring about a totally better feel to the overall product than what I had before'.

It makes you have to go back and look over your start to finish and really sift through the middle part and see just where it goes and by doing that, you find new avenues to write just by reviewing your plot (least I do sense I've got a lengthy plot outline written out for the whole story) and see ways to better your work.

 

[Chakra Wizard]

I usually don't think of ideas and decide if I should incorporate them into an ongoing story or a completely new one. I usually just come up with a new story altogether, but if it's just an idea for like a cool scene or something, I just incorporate it into the story I've got going.

 

[Michael92]

My ideas are too different to be incorporated into each , other, most of the time. I usually just create separate stories.

I see. But then again, that could easily become a challenge, especially if you have too many new and separate ideas at once, as usually that ends up in several different works, only done to half-completion, and with only 1/3 of your true passion divided to each of them if you have three ideas at once. That's how I see it nonetheless, although you might think of it differently. For instance, I have like my Legendary Sage FF, which will have evolved into three main works (one original and two sequels), two chronicles and one short movie, by the time I reach the end of it. If it hadn't been for my creativity to include new ideas into already existing story, I would have ended up creating two other chronicles as well, but instead, I chose to include and develop them into my main story instead...

Not only that, but then I have this Master Plan, that I will make all my FF/OFs relate somehow, in one giant universe. For instance, the SoSP FF I'll be doing later on, will build upon a lot of story already revealed in my current FF. And then, I have an idea for two entirely new FFs (One Zelda and one Star Wars based), that I've had for some time, but that I'll only do if I get time, and if I do end up doing them, I'll connect them into my universe. The only thing I'll be doing separately from this Master Plan, is a possible Collaboration FF that has been shelved for a long time, and some other ideas I have for a modern/mobster FF, that I suppose I'll never end up doing. As for my OF, that I've stalled for over two years now, that's the main idea that will reveal the connection all of my work will have with each other, something in which sounds beyond belief to begin with, haha xD

To to me working off of original work, I can do world building and incorporate anything I want into my universe because for one, it's modern-isk but also holds an old world style to it with castles and what not, and the use of magic brings a totally new light to what creatures I can bring in. Heck, I've got that desert area in the story that I'm going to do a sort of western feel to it.

I've kind of covered a bunch of areas in my work and I find it a thrill to be able to be able to figure out ways to bring these new ideas into my existing story. I think that you are correct about not needing to do a new story for an idea, but find ways where 'hey you know what, if I change this in the story, I can add this and bring about a totally better feel to the overall product than what I had before'.

It makes you have to go back and look over your start to finish and really sift through the middle part and see just where it goes and by doing that, you find new avenues to write just by reviewing your plot (least I do sense I've got a lengthy plot outline written out for the whole story) and see ways to better your work.

This is exactly what I've been aiming at with my post, the way to build upon your already existing story, and spicing it up with new ideas, that you otherwise would do something entirely new with instead.

I usually don't think of ideas and decide if I should incorporate them into an ongoing story or a completely new one. I usually just come up with a new story altogether, but if it's just an idea for like a cool scene or something, I just incorporate it into the story I've got going.

Then I have a question for you... What do you think is the "completion rate" for FF/OFs that are being done at the same time as other works by the same writer? From what I've seen on the Base, doing several works at the same time only lead to;

One or several of them not being completed, getting a chapter released at a timely schedule might take a lot of time when you have to try and balance all of your work, one of these work gets more quality time than the others, and above all else, these works of yours never get their full potential exposed as you have to divide a portion of "yourself" to each of them. That's just my observation though.