So … *twiddles thumbs* You finish your first draft and it’s good. Really good. Champagne for everyone! (Except you–you don’t look old enough.) You send it off for feedback and wait.
What is a writer to do while waiting for feedback on their WIP? You can’t revise without the feedback. You can’t move forward. You can always prepare for the next step:
- Update your website
- Compile a list of agents/editors to query
- Write your query letter
- Write your synopsis
- Pimp out your upcoming release
And then what? THEN WHAT?! ‘Cause I’ve done all those things and now I’m sitting here going crazy, spamming my friends, attempting to read (hellooo Fifty Shades Trilogy), wondering what to do.
See, the problem is, I have no idea what I’m writing next. Sure, sure I’ve tossed around a number of ideas, but none of them seem right. At least, not right now. I’m throwing stuff against the wall but it ain’t sticking. Normally, I’d have an idea lined up, possibly a loose outline, even some preliminary research and a page or two. This time? Nada.
If you’re a writer, how do you spend this in-between time? Where do you find inspiration and ideas? Do you dive into your next project?
Please leave me some comments or I’ll be forced to start cleaning my house. *shudders*
Stephanie Lawton 
I’m cleansing my mental palette before starting my next WIP by playing Skyrim…
Well uhm….I usually work on so many manuscripts at the same time that I don’t experience first draft limbo. Examples:
1) I’m currently 65k words into my Soul Thief manuscript, a YA paranormal. I’m stuck at an epic battle scene. I’ve contacted some friends/writing buddies and sent them the first chapter of this book, so they could give critique, and I can start rewriting the first 65k words before I work at the end, unless I get inspiration for the epic battle sooner.
2) I’m currently 50k words into my The Sleeping Kingdom manuscript, a YA fantasy novel featuring fairytales. I’m stuck in a scene in which my main characters are accompanying Ella (aka Cindrella) to Prince Charming’s ball, and then they have to defeat evil stepmom, who happens to be a necromancer. Notice a theme here? I’m not good at epic battle scenes! So this one is also on hold until I know how to write epic battle scene from hell.
3) My Ghostslayer manuscript is now at 15k words. Luckily enough, I’m not spotting any epic battles yet. So while I’m contemplating on how to write the epic battle scene in The Sleeping Kingdom and waiting for critiques on Soul Thief, I’m working on Ghostslayer.
The only real trouble will start once I come across an epic battle scene in Ghostslayer. But the odd thing is this novel actually started with a battle…and that one I wrote just fine. Straaaange.
Anyway, what you can do? Start on something else. Of course the idea needs to feel right though. Critique some works by other people, read a couple of books in the genre you’d like to write in next, or watch some movies to get inspired.
Good luck on getting out of first draft limbo!
After finishing a round of edits for a WIP, I wasn’t quite ready to commit to another novel length piece right away, so I started working on short fiction. Morse specifically, I wrote two flash fiction (or postcard fiction) pieces of 250 words or less. I did it for practice and to play with words in a different form.
Come visit your best friend, since she can’t seem to escape long enough to come to you? Eh… I tried. 🙂
I was thinking about that actually …