Too Many Ideas?

[Ray Desmer]

Do you guys ever have the problem of having too many ideas? I must have like a dozen story ideas floating around in my head at any one time, and it's hard to focus on writing just one of them.
If so, what do you do? Flip a coin? Poll your readers? Force yourself to focus on one idea?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Just write something. Polling a hypothetical audience is a bit silly, isn't it? What if the majority of punters vote for the idea you like least?

 

[Rob_Royale]

I write whichever idea, I have fleshed out the most complete in my mind. If they are equal, then I write which one turns me on the most.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

As I recently commented on another thread, I distinguish between "inspiration" and "ideas".

There are a world of things that give me inspiration for a story, but I don't do anything with that inspiration until it coalesces into something more substantial in my mind. That is the story idea that I then make note of and build from.

 

[Ray Desmer]

Don't expect me to click an unfamiliar link.

You could set up a poll on the Lit forum.

My bad, I didn't realize there was a poll option. If you're worried though, it's just a google drive doc. I think google polls are a relatively new feature, so I understand the hesitance. The main reason I used it was so I could post the link on a few different sites.

 

[Ray Desmer]

Just write something. Polling a hypothetical audience is a bit silly, isn't it? What if the majority of punters vote for the idea you like least?

To be fair, I didn't say I would be swayed by it. But I guess I was just kind of curious.

I write whichever idea, I have fleshed out the most complete in my mind. If they are equal, then I write which one turns me on the most.

Well that really just depends on the day of the week though, doesn't it?

 

[Rob_Royale]

To be fair, I didn't say I would be swayed by it. But I guess I was just kind of curious.



Well that really just depends on the day of the week though, doesn't it?

Not for me, no.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I have about 100 ideas from the past year in my ideas file with about 10 of those 'ready' to write but not started and about another 8 in various stages of development.

I do a lot of thinking about stories during my daily walks and focus either or something that I'm currently working on or else wherever my muse takes me. Eventually it'll seem like my muse is done with a story and thinking about it anymore without writing anything would be a waste of time.


It's a sad fact of life that for every idea you write, you probably have between another two and ten you'll never get round to. You just have to decide which of your ideas your must excited and most able to write at this specific moment.

 

[thomas1965]

You could set up a poll on the Lit forum.

How can you do this?

 

[Duleigh]

If so, what do you do? Flip a coin? Poll your readers? Force yourself to focus on one idea?

Yes

No, seriously, my answer is yes. I generate a list of the ideas and let them sit for a while, then come back to the list and see if they're still viable ideas. You can't poll your readers, they won't answer the poll, however if you communicate with a reader drop them an email and ask them what they think of an idea or two. In the end you're going to toss a coin AND force yourself to focus on the idea you picked.

 

[MrPixel]

Choose the idea you think you can completely finish to your satisfaction. So many musings get a head of steam and then run out of fuel, or worse, run out of water and then explode.

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

Don't think this new forum supports polls. It pisses me off. I used to post about ten polls a day back when. Which might be reason it's not available anymore, come to think of it.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I write all the ideas down in one doc. Start fleshing out some. Once an idea gets beyond a couple paragraphs, it gets its own doc. I flip through my list every now and then. Sometimes a number inch ahead of each other in turn, sometimes one will take off, sometimes a totally new idea demands full attention until it's done.

Currently have two stories which have each been getting about a paragraph a day for the last fortnight.

 

[TxRad]

It would take a dozen writers working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to keep up with my story ideas. I have a folder marked: Story ideas for my next two lifetimes.

 

[SimonDoom]

Hell, yes. This is my chronic problem. I have dozens of folders of uncompleted stories and story ideas. I flit from one to the other.

How do I respond? Usually by puttering my time away here at the Author's Hangout.

Seriously, this is my advice: Just write. Make yourself do it. Choose one of your ideas that you particularly like, AND that can be turned into a relatively SHORT story. I have issues with time management and have read a variety of books on the subject, and one of the best pieces of advice I've read is that when you confront many tasks to be completed and feel overwhelmed, target the easy task first. It's doable, and you'll feel good when you get it done.

So, pick an idea that seems appealing AND easy to you, and do that. Just do it. Don't think about it.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

To be honest, I don't really know; I never felt the urge to start one. I think it's an option you can select when starting a new thread, but it seems to me that most of the polls are not appreciated.

If it's available, it certainly isn't very intuitive.

 

[nice90sguy]

It would take a dozen writers working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to keep up with my story ideas. I have a folder marked: Story ideas for my next two lifetimes.

Good to see you're giving them 12 hours off a day, though.