Capture the New Story Spark without Derailing Your Current Draft: Live with Beth Barany & Gala Russ

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video next week in the app.

Note: the last 5 minutes are silent and black.

1. Expect the chaos (it’s normal).

   New story sparks and characters interrupting you are a feature of the creative process, not a sign you’re doing it wrong.

2. Capture the spark without switching projects.

   Set up a fast “catch basin” where you’re already writing, so you don’t have to leave your draft.

   Examples:

   • Scrivener: keep an “Other ideas” folder; add a new text doc labeled exactly what showed up (e.g., “new snarky character voice”).

   • Handwritten notebook / journal: jot the idea immediately with a clear label.

   • In-document notes: drop the idea in brackets so you can spot and extract it later when you clean the draft.

   • Microsoft Word: open a separate Word file, type the idea, quick-save it in your main fiction folder with a clear filename.

3. Choose your focus (one project per moment).

   You can move between projects in a day, but you can only work on one thing at a time. When ideas arrive, capture them, then ask yourself what you truly want to be working on right now — and give yourself permission to let that decision evolve.

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