I'm not getting enough writing done. This isn't because of real life issues, though there are some of those. I have to start physical therapy next week because I failed spectacularly at the oh-so-difficult task of walking in a straight line on a flat sidewalk. I can't even blame the dog for my horribly mangled ankle because my husband was holding her leash at the time.

But, this post isn't about my being accident prone. That's just a known fact of the universe. This post is about crossroads.

I'm kind of at one in my writing. I finished my first novel. Not just the initial draft, but the whole thing. Multiple drafts, several rounds of feedback. It feels done. And so, I am submitting it to agents. Hopefully one will like it enough to point out why it is not, in fact, done, and where it needs revisions before they, as my new agent, submit it to editors. (In a perfect world I should be hoping they love it as is, think it's brilliant, and wouldn't change a thing. However, I prefer to keep my dreams in the borderlands of pragmatism. Less shattering of my delusions that way.)

None of this is a problem. Nor am I experiencing the typical post project issue of "What the heck do I write now?"

Well, okay, I am, but not in the way I usually do. Often I finish a story and there are a few days of listless wandering while I scrounge for another idea that excites me. Mind you, I have a file full of ideas to pull from, but they're fragments, puzzle pieces that need to be rearranged to get me to the point where the words start flowing.

This is not my problem now. Instead I have four different concepts running around in my brain, all of which want to be written RIGHT NOW.

Since I have no idea where to start or which one to work on first, I seem to have defaulted to not writing at all. I do not like this state.

So, time to dig in and pare down the options. Story idea one is an actual short story, or possibly novella. It's in the same world as my novel but has a completely different set of characters. I know the general shape of what has to happen and who the main players are, but while I started working on it previously, something is missing. It's coming out flat.

From previous experience that means it's not ready. More percolating in the back of my mind needs to happen. No problem. One option down.

Idea Two is a novel concept. Actually, Ideas Two, Three, and Four are all novel length. So much for my declaration that I never wanted to write a novel.

I like Idea Two, which is a YA story involving one of the secondary characters from Completed Novel. (There's a theme to most of the pending ideas.) I just haven't found the plot yet. Great! Two options down.

And this is where the real trouble begins. See, I really like both ideas left but I cannot write two books at once.

One is the sequel to Completed Novel. I have started it. It's going well. There are outlines and character profiles. I go to bed imagining scenes and interactions. Despite assertions that all of the ideas interest me, the truth is, this is the one I want to be writing now.


Which makes the solution seem easy, but--there is always a but--what if no one likes the first one? If I go through all the submissions and no agent wants it, no publisher is biting, there is no market then I will have lost months of time that could have been spent on a new project more likely to meet with success.

Please note, I will write this story regardless. It's just a matter of whether I do it now or later, and if it was the only thing on my plate then there'd be no question.

Which brings me to Idea Four. This has no relation to the world of Completed Novel at all. It's a different genre, target audience, everything. And I adore the concept.

Plus, while I am no expert on markets, it's probably an easier sell than my Completed Novel which, while I love it, believe in it, and think is a valuable addition to its niche, has some elements that have high market saturation.

(Wow, I seem to be going all-in on convoluted sentences today.)

I could work on Idea Four and be happy doing it. Yet it's not the story I am most passionate about right now. Also, when Completed Novel gains me an agent and is bought then the sequel needs to be finished in a timely manner, a task more easily accomplished if I start now.

I feel like I am in an if-then loop that's missing an exit condition or two. The result - Deadlock.