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SNISA!TNO, this ones
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SNISA!TNO, this ones
SNISA!TNO, this ones for you
Shiny New Idea Syndrom Anonymous
We've all had those days. You are just sitting there writing your novel/short story/poem/love note/ e-mail/ cricket post when you get a Shiny New Idea leavinig your perfectaly good Old Idea unfinished. Then it turns out that your new idea is not all that you thought it would be and you get a new SNI and leave your Old SNI to rot. Here is where you can rant/vent/talk about your problems/ get (hopefully) solutions for your problems/ and all this for FREE
submitted by Adina , age 12, Mostly in fanta
(July 31, 2009 - 9:23 am)
(July 31, 2009 - 9:23 am)
Oh, yes. I suffer SNIs very frequently.
Given that I recently found Johnny the Homicidal Maniac online, my latest SNI is probably going to turn bloody pretty darn fast.
Sigh.
JtHM is really funny, in my defense.
(July 31, 2009 - 11:33 am)
what is johnny the homacidal maniac? I'm too scared to google it.
(July 31, 2009 - 4:34 pm)
AAARGH! I hate those. I never finish my stories, no matter how much I want to, because POP! Another idea just works its way into my head. And then I abandon my poor old story, thinking, what a waste of paper! (good thing I recycle) but then I realize my new idea is weird or bad or too similar to something else. And then, WHAM. it just happens again. i REALLY need a cure. FAST!
(July 31, 2009 - 7:14 pm)
Ooh, I'm on at the same time as TNO ! HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
(July 31, 2009 - 5:40 pm)
I suffer SNISA all the time! I start writing a story, and then I suddenly think of something else! I try to keep with my old idea, but the longer I write, the worse my old idea seems and the better the new! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to finish a story?
(July 31, 2009 - 8:44 pm)
well, this is a support group so we offer support. then if anyone found a way out we give advice. I searched the internet for SNI and I found out someone already made it up. Here is what they said:
A good 13,000 words into my dystopian fantasy, I realized that the
featured world is severely underdeveloped. This depressed me.
So I moved on to another idea – cancer and
people you don’t want in your head. This was hard too, though, seeing
as I know nothing about cancer.
I then decided to write an Urban Fantasy about playing God. This was difficult because it had no plot.
To take my mind off of these failures, I started a book about
wolves. Unfortunately, the main character was a hopeless Mary Sue.
I needed a better, more rounded idea, so I cracked open a romance. I fail at romance.
Shiny New Idea Syndrome–I’m sure we’ve all experienced it. Being
new to the technical side of writing, SNIS is just about the only thing
I understand–but that doesn’t mean I’ve learned how to beat it.
To be perfectly honest, I fail at resisting temptation. When the
current WIP becomes too much, there’s always another, better, shinier
idea lurking somewhere in the back of your head. It’s easy to distract
yourself for a while; just long enough to develop a whole new arsenal
of shiny new ideas. They’re shiny and tempting and shiny some more.
So what do you do?
Ignore them.
Somehow.
It’s a very well-disguised method of procrastination; it gives you
illusion that you’re accomplishing something, and yet you probably
realize that you’re never, ever going to finish anything unless you
commit.
And therefore, you have a problem.
There are a few methods I use to ease the pain, but it nothing I’ve found so far makes it go away completely.
can fix it up with spiffy metaphors and hardcore statistics later.
Just get more words onto the page.
you know everything that’s going to happen, there’s sure to be some
part that interests you. Jump to that part and write.
it out. Keep on fleshing that outline until it gets difficult. Then
go back to the comparatively fun, easy manuscript you’re supposed to be
working on.
I highly recommend the head-smashing technique. Just make sure you have some Tylenol on hand first.
(August 1, 2009 - 8:20 am)
I googled Johnny the homacidal maniac and while I was reading them I was thinking a) the guy who wrote this is a genius and b) this is so disturbing I am going to be haunted for the rest of my life.
(August 1, 2009 - 10:21 am)
Jhonen Vasquez also did Invader Zim.
(August 1, 2009 - 1:08 pm)
I always try to ignore it. I know that's what I should do. It's just that... the new idea always looks soooooooooooooooo much better! How am I supposed to ignore it? And I don't know anyone who's annoying! I'm sorry, I just wish... In fact I've kind of... *blushes* stopped writing stories now, my case is so serious. I can never finish anything except poetry!
(August 1, 2009 - 11:21 am)
Same here.
I can be annoying for you, Ima! I'm usually not (being the oldest of 7 makes people expect you not to be annoying), but I'd be willing to make a change! :D :D
(August 1, 2009 - 2:01 pm)
*sigh of relief* I thought I was the only one that this happened to. Thankfully not. I have none of my files on this Mac (because we're on vacation), so I can't specify, but this happens a lot. The head-banging works, by the way. I mean, I use desks instead of walls, but same concept.
I'm not going to ask about Johnny, I think.
(August 1, 2009 - 2:41 pm)
JtHM = Invader Zim with a darker sort of humor.
(August 1, 2009 - 6:41 pm)
Invader Zim, I guess, being the alien with the preoccupation with doom, should memory serve.
(August 5, 2009 - 8:46 pm)
I also find it rather difficult to associate the words "homicide" and "humour," if you know what I mean. :-/
(August 6, 2009 - 12:13 pm)
Sondheim made cannibalism and mass murder funny with Sweeney Todd. Why can't Vasquez do the same with Johnny the Homicidal Maniac?
One must keep in mind that dark comedy doesn't quite click with everyone, I suppose.
(August 6, 2009 - 2:06 pm)