Imagine you’ve been working on one story when suddenly, without intention, you’re inspired by a new idea for another story with completely different characters. You know nothing about the new story, yet you know it is attractive and you can’t stop thinking about it. Every part of your being suddenly wants to spend time with it. You flirt with names and places, imagine scenes and structure and may even go so far as to write an outline. This is flirting. And by all means, flirt. But don’t let it derail you. Don’t let the flirtation turn to lustful indulgence.
Ask yourself, aren’t you already in love with the characters you’ve worked so hard to develop in your current story? If you are, then deserting them and turning to a new story will feel like a betrayal. Your characters have come alive with your help and they depend on you to bring them solutions, chapter endings, closure. You could leave them, but I promise when you later think about them, when you remember them sitting in the unfinished pages of your computer, your heart will break.
My advice, let flirting have its place for an evening. Get out your notebook and jot down the wonderful new idea, the intriguing new character, the amazing story. But then leave it alone. Don’t let the flirting turn to lust. Wake up the next morning and give your current characters the love and devotion they deserve. When you finish their story, you won’t be torn by choosing, but rather enriched by going forward and having them both.