 Noticing Newbies: April 03, 2019 Issue [#9471] |
This week: Ooh Shiny Syndrome Edited by: Tornado Dodger  
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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
It's often said the most documented affliction of creative people is having too many ideas. But what happens when you flit from one idea to the next without completing the one before it?
That's what I call Ooh Shiny Syndrome.
Here’s the general definition from Karen Greenstreet (small business coach and consultant): “It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the bigger picture and go off in tangents instead of remaining focused on the goal.”
How to recognize Ooh Shiny Syndrome:
You constantly start things but never finish them.
You're working on something and suddenly find yourself doing something unintended.
Shiny Objects come in many forms…
 New Writing Ideas
Tools
Business Offers
Courses/Programs
And a ton of other things ...
This can also happen with books too. That ugly, undying need to have the newest book. The voices in your head start arguing. It's on sale! But I'm already reading a series that I really like and want to finish. Doesn't matter! Buy it anyway! You can read it afterward! [I'm looking at you, JayNaNoOhNo  ]
Pretty soon you have countless unread titles on your Kindle and a huge case of OOH SHINY SYNDROME.
So how do you correct this problem?
I've read that reframing your situation is the key to making it work. According to Ryan Lelek, convincing yourself that your current project is “shiny” can be done by finding the one answer to one question.
Why are you doing [enter what your current project is]?
Think of one answer:
To make an impact? To learn? To Teach?
Write it down. Commit to it. Get excited about it.
What else can you do?
It's true that leaving half-finished unconnected ideas in your brain detracts from your current attention span. When you think of/see something new and exciting, your brain spins around like an excited toddler after a sugar-binge, it's hard to, well, you know, focus. With a new story idea, the plot flashes before your eyes, you hear the characters, you see their fate. Before long you're imagining the book cover, the book trailer, who will write the screenplay, the actors that will star in the film adaption ... you get my point.
So, to combat this, you should immediately rid your mind of an idea when it pops up. Write that puppy down and get it out of your frontal lobe my friends.
To do that, I keep 3 notebooks:
 Main composition book for brainstorming.
Pocket-sized book for ideas that occur at inconvenient times.
To-do lists in online places like the notebook here at Wdc or apps like https://workflowy.com/
Getting those pesky ideas out of your head or making a note to check that cool new website, book, blog, etc. out LATER will hopefully satisfy that immediate urge and help you refocus on your current project.
Write and Review on! ~ Brooke
 "This book is meant to help you identify, determine and face your addiction to shiny objects." - from the description.
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To celebrate Poetry Month, I'm sharing some poetry from our newest authors.
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I received some wonderful feedback to my last newsletter [#9418] "Let's Burn This Place Down" and I'm proud to share it with you.
From Mary Ann MCPhedran  via email.
I'm willing to join in on this activity but what kind of story.
You decide, whatever interests you and your friends :)
From s 
Interesting words on collaboration. I recommend it. I don't write my longer works as collaborations, but have done a few short stories, and a lot of songs and stage stuff (sketches, stand-up routines, wrestling promos, etc.) with other people. There are two things I have found:
1) you cannot have exactly the same concepts and thoughts as your collaborator, and you cannot have diametrically opposite views. The first leads to why collaborate, the second to arguments. There needs to be enough of a difference to make collaboration a viable option, but not so much that working together just hurts.
2) You need to set ground rules at the start and not be afraid to say, "Time out."
But good article.
You have some great points. I hope you can find some friends to collaborate with that don't lead to arguments. 
And there was some additional feedback from a previous NL that is getting some views because of a Quill nomination entitled [#9018] "The Color of Sound"
From charitykountz
I really love this article. I've never tried brain music before so my brain wasn't used to it. I tried brain.fm. I used a focus station and within moments it felt like my brain just lit up. I'm sensitive to repetitive sounds - things like air conditioners, fans, harsh rain all irritate me. After a while my husband's breathing will get on my nerves. Due to PTSD, my body is over sensitive but not to this. This was perfect and felt like something my brain was craving! I'm going to share this with my husband - I bet he'll love it too! Thanks Brooke!
I'm glad you found it helpful! :)
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