What to do?

[yaxomoxay]

Hi, reading some of the posts here I decided to give it a try and start writing. As many on this world, I always wanted to write some fiction but for a reason or another (reason=excuse) I always delayed. My biggest concern was my English - I am native of Italy - but I told myself just to start, no more excuses. Revisions, corrections, mistakes, proper grammar, horrible plot twists will be something I’ll deal with later on.
My plan is simple: write 200 words a day, for a total of about 5000 words. It is not much, but it feasible since 200 words a day is nothing. So, I had an idea and I just started typing. The first night I wrote about 400 words and the second night about 450 words. So far I have missed the daily goal only once (Sunday I wrote about 100 words); currently my story is about 2500 words.
Now, here’s the “problem”. The story should have been “faster”, while I write down something I come up with something else that drives my character to something slightly different. In other words, I come up with new ideas and I let my character follow them (although the main “points” aren’t changed). This is making the story longer than I thought. I bet 90% of what I am writing now will be rewritten during the revision phase and I know that quite possibly I will remove some of the episodes I am writing down. I am afraid my story will be “too long”.
In addition to that, I am having a gazillion of ideas about other stories. I try not to listen to them, I just write the basic idea down on a Molesking notepad. However, the more I write, the more new ideas pop-up. It is crazy, but how would you approach this storm of ideas during your writing phase?

[Fishbowl Helmet]

Just as you are. Keep writing the story you're working on until it's done, but write down the other ideas you're having. You can always come back to them later. And the story being longer than you planned doesn't really matter, just tell the story and let it be as long as it needs to be to complete it. Just remember to have fun with it.

[allmywires]

I just roll with it - sometimes the 'new' ideas you come up with are actually better, because your characters change as you write them and get to know them better. Just keep going, because you're not going to get it right the first time: worry about editing, and doing things wrong after you've finished.

Besides, the first draft is the fun part - the mystery of what's going to happen, getting to write all the exciting and dramatic and sad moments. Editing is reading the same paragraph seventeen times and still not getting it quite right. Enjoy it while you can!

[Esfires]

Let that hedge grow for now. You can always trim it later.

[RcGrant]

Originally Posted by Esfires

Let that hedge grow for now. You can always trim it later.

I read this and wondered if I had logged into the right forum.

[RcGrant]

Originally Posted by allmywires

Editing is reading the same paragraph seventeen times and still not getting it quite right. Enjoy it while you can!

This. By the time you're done you never want to see your novel again!

[ctg]

Take this from another non native to another. You should first and foremost write in your native language unless you have extraordinary patience, or because you're particularly gifted, or because the SFF market in your native language is same as a joke. So if you opt to write in foreign language bare in mind that people are going to slap your face constantly with the grammar matters. Therefore, as a writer, you have to not only grow your vocabulary, you also have to learn to write fluently and professionally to even have a chance to get published. That's my sincere advice even though I could writer longer, but I don't want to stand out as a patronising old git.

[MemoryTale]

Just keep writing and getting to know your characters, what they'll do and why. Sometimes I think they know more about the story than you do!

Originally Posted by RcGrant

I read this and wondered if I had logged into the right forum.

...At least one of us has a dirty mind here

[Tecdavid]

I'd say continue noting down your ideas. Let them sit where they are for now, and if you want incorporate anything into your current story, then that's fine. It's not a bad thing for a story to take new directions, or flesh itself out a little, while it's being written. Some stories are even considered a bit stale if they follow a writer's mould right from the get-go. You see, new ideas that you don't anticipate can add a certain flavour to a story. If an idea for a new twist or turn takes you by surprise when you think of it, it may be all the more surprising to your readers when they come across it. Adding, removing, and editing ideas is a central point to redrafting, and that's something every good story goes through.

[Kaldaur]

Congratulations on attempting to write in another language. That's an incredibly daunting proposition, and even us native speakers have some difficulty with English (read any of my posts and you'll understand that fact).

Keep that notebook handy. Some of the best short story or novel ideas come when you're writing something else. Plop them down and plug on.