I have decided, in A) the spirit of experimentation and B) a persistent and growing sense of frustration at the way I never seem to finish anything, to try focusing on only one story at a time. (With the caveat that if inspiration hits me, I'm not going to ask it to leave a message and call back later.)
I am not going to start with "Guardian" -- it's just too long, and a lot of the details further ahead in my outline are too fuzzy. But I have 5 other WIPs that could each probably be finished within a couple months if I buckled down and worked on them for even 30 minutes each day:
1) Secrets (HP)
2) An Ounce of Prevention (Naruto/HP)
3) Lemonade (BtVS/Gundam Wing/Naruto)
4) Strange Likenesses (HP)
5) The Transient and the Eternal (Angel Sanctuary)
My inclination is to knock off "An Ounce of Prevention" first, since it's the shortest, and then move on to "Secrets," "Lemonade," and "Strange Likenesses," in that order -- which is related partly to how long they've been unfinished, partly to how far along I am in their plot arcs, and partly to how firm their outlines are. (I am quite sure what's going to happen in "Secrets," fairly sure what's going to happen in "Lemonade," and frankly flailing on "Strange Likenesses," though at least now I have something resembling a plot for that last one!)
"The Transient and the Eternal" is the odd one out -- it's a series of connected shortfics rather than a chaptered story -- so I figure I'll leave it more or less on the backburner, like "Guardian," and continue my habit of working on it only when it grabs hold of my brain and won't take no for an answer.
My 6th WIP, Two Guys and a Girl (part of the FF7
mercverse AU) is being cannibalized for an original YA fantasy novel (more on that later...) but I think I can slap some sort of ending on it within a week or so.
And on that note, I'm heading home to have dinner and start writing. :-)
I am not going to start with "Guardian" -- it's just too long, and a lot of the details further ahead in my outline are too fuzzy. But I have 5 other WIPs that could each probably be finished within a couple months if I buckled down and worked on them for even 30 minutes each day:
1) Secrets (HP)
2) An Ounce of Prevention (Naruto/HP)
3) Lemonade (BtVS/Gundam Wing/Naruto)
4) Strange Likenesses (HP)
5) The Transient and the Eternal (Angel Sanctuary)
My inclination is to knock off "An Ounce of Prevention" first, since it's the shortest, and then move on to "Secrets," "Lemonade," and "Strange Likenesses," in that order -- which is related partly to how long they've been unfinished, partly to how far along I am in their plot arcs, and partly to how firm their outlines are. (I am quite sure what's going to happen in "Secrets," fairly sure what's going to happen in "Lemonade," and frankly flailing on "Strange Likenesses," though at least now I have something resembling a plot for that last one!)
"The Transient and the Eternal" is the odd one out -- it's a series of connected shortfics rather than a chaptered story -- so I figure I'll leave it more or less on the backburner, like "Guardian," and continue my habit of working on it only when it grabs hold of my brain and won't take no for an answer.
My 6th WIP, Two Guys and a Girl (part of the FF7
And on that note, I'm heading home to have dinner and start writing. :-)