IWSG: The Deadly Pattern

I need some Me time

State Of Day. How many new experiences can a girl handle in one week, really? I feel exhausted.

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IWSG has rolled back again and today I want to walk you through a classic pitfall of mine.

During my late years of writing I realized a pattern, a not very helpful pattern. It’s about taking or perhaps even stealing ideas from future books (if you call using your own ideas stealing). How you ask me?

I tell you;

One example of many:  I’ve been thinking for almost three years about a book I would want to write in the near future, call it book 2. The other day, inspired by watching Battle of The Five Armies, an idea of a cool super power that would work perfectly with my heroine and even enhance the plot dashed into my mind. The scene in which she will reveal this ability was vivid in my head and so–Ah!-enchanting a grin even Alice’s mad cat couldn’t possibly compete with took place on my face, I was quite pleased. Good? Good.

suddenly another character completely out of the blue comes smashing about to save the day, he was riding something he shouldn’t be riding and people did he entered with class!

John? John! YOU ARE AMAZING! YOU ARE FANTASTIC!

NOT!

Oh you stupid girl it’s the pattern again!

so disappointed I was with myself at that moment, my grin disappeared and a thin pressed line of irritation took place.

Why?

Because the ability he exhibited in order to save the day belonged to another character in yet another future book (call it book 1), and book 1 I had in my head from way back, almost 13 years (which makes changing it now even harder), but a year or 20 is hardly the problem, I was mad, again, because I ruined now both books. It’s just another variation to the writing advice I stumbled upon so many times, that the first idea that jumps to your mind while brainstorming or crafting the first manuscript is probably a cliché, except this time it’s my own brand of clichés.

It almost always happens, so at the end I reached a conclusion:

Since I don’t know whether I’m going to live to write book 2, or even if I will still want to write it when the time comes, I’ll take this idea and put it in book 1, no fear or worries, because the same mind that came up with that idea in the first place is capable of devising an even better one for book 2.

Besides giving two characters in two separate books the same gift isn’t always the sign of a less creative mind.

So steal it, by all means, and stop being such a whiny baby!

Now I have been working with this rule for a while, but sometimes I just wonder; what if I’m making a grieve mistake? the example I gave amounts only to a rock in one’s shoe, sometimes the ideas I want to steal and add to a current WIP are the heart and soul of the book to-be. I should give this a bit more thinking.

But I would love to hear your thoughts on this O Wise Ones.

Also. I can’t wait for this year’s A to Z challenge, I feel giddy already 0_o
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Wait! Wait! I’m not done yet. before I forget, my last IWSG post got so many comments, I couldn’t reply to all but what I’m trying to say some of those lovely comments were so awesome and wise, it warmed my heart, thank you so much everyone I sure appreciate the jims you offered kindly. Productive February to all!