So Many Stories, So Little Time

When I first started writing, I had one big idea. Oh, there were others floating around my head, but nothing that inspired me to sit down and write. Then "The" idea struck and I finally sat down and started writing. For six months I focused solely on that one idea, faithfully writing everyday. Then I was done, and figured out that one idea had some major flaws. So, I did what I think most writers with their first novel. I put it away and started on something new.

During my second book, I noticed it was harder to stay focused after a while. A new idea popped into my head and lost interest in the one I was working on. But I plowed through. I managed to finish, while at the same time getting a good start on my third book.

I thought things would get easier the more I wrote. But they haven't. It seems as if every time I try to work on one piece, new ideas came to me. I've really tried to focus. I have a projected deadline for the final book in A Touched Trilogy, and I shamefully admit that I am barely a fourth of the way through and hate pretty much everything I've written.

That said, I now have five other stories at the same point - aliens, werewolves, fantasy, and an alternate reality. And I don't hate any of them yet. But I think I will. Maybe it is the nature of the beast with series. They take a lot of attention and I just can't seem to give it to them.

But I can't stop writing them either. I need pressure. I need consistency. I need NaNoWriMo! November can't come soon enough for this writer!

So, am I alone? Anyone else out there struggling to finish what they started?