Many writers already have a few dozen ideas front of mind ready to become complete stories or fit into a larger works.
This is especially true of multi-passionate creatives who typically carry a staggering number of wildly variable ideas.
This should be a good thing, right?
Our currency is ideas, so how could having so many of them be a negative thing?
Because most of us will never live long enough to turn all those ideas into stories.
We may be overwhelmed by the weight of so many worlds running rampant between our ears.
If you’re a multi-minded writer like me, you’ll understand how this state, while intoxicating in its fascination and excitement, can be exhausting.
Or some might feel fine with the amount of zygotic stories waiting to grow, yet simply don’t know which idea to work on.
How does one handle this overabundance of ideas?
Everything At The Same Time
Some work on all the things all the time.
With this approach, completion is typically a longer journey, but in my experience, it also means that lots of projects come to fruition simultaneously.
Some writers work on multiple ideas at once, but have some on a back burner, dabbling now and then, and give focus to a primary idea.
This is typically how I work, having one or two focus projects and then a folder of dabbling ideas I call Play Projects. When a focus project is complete, I bring a Play Project into focus.
I typically find this works best when combining different types of ideas. Fiction with nonfiction, or two very different fiction works at different stages of creative development.
One Project At A Time
Some writers work more methodically, one idea after the other, keeping each within a single focus at any time. But which idea do you choose to run with first?
If you’re writing primarily for money, your decision might come down to which project has the best earning potential.
Which of your ideas will likely advance your author business most effectively?
If you’re writing solely for passion, which idea lights you up the most?
For those of us writing for money and passion equally, the answer is in the overlap of these feelings. A potentially profitable project that fills you with a heavy dread or boredom should not get your spotlight. Life’s too short!
Look for that project that will lift your career and your soul at the same time.
Fear Of Missing Out
Much of the overwhelm from too many ideas comes from fear. Fear of Missing Out.
What if you never get to turn all of your ideas into stories?
For most of us, this is reality.
Accept it, and turn toward those light, exciting ideas with the opposite mind. The Joy of Missing Out.
What’s better? A life spent worrying about never getting around to making all the things you want to make, and making nothing because you’re too paralysed by the overwhelm of choice?
Or choosing one idea, reveling in it, and bringing it to life with the best of your abilities and the totality of your creative spirit.
