So many ideas ... so little time

[Azza]

Hey guys,

I'm not sure if there is a previous thread on this somewhere, there probably is, but I thought I would bring it up anyway.

I have a wild imagination, my head is constantly full of ideas, to such an extent it actually keeps me up at night sometimes. I'm one of those people who starts a novel, then two chapters in I have a brand new fantastic idea, which just wont translate into the same novel ... so I start another one.

Are there any other sufferers of this over-active imagination disease?
And is there a cure?...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

There are several discussions about this - and I am too lazy to go looking atm. It's a very common problem, especially with new writers. It's commonly called creative ADD or "ooh, shiney!" disease. The only real cure is to knuckle down and pick a project or two and work them. Personally, I juggle several projects at once to handle my ADD, but all my projects are in the same series. Find something that works for you, and settle down and do it.

 

[MFreako]

I'm pretty confident most people on this forum suffer (or not) from overly imaginative minds, so you're not alone.

For me, it helped to stay focused on the one thing I'm currently writing. When I have a new idea, and it's just brilliant, I write it down. Maybe it can be incorporated into my current work, and if not, it'll be there for me to use whenever I feel like it.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Hello Azza.

What you describe is very common here in Mythic Scribes, and it has been discussed in many threads before. It's really important that we talk about this particular problem, because it affects so many of us and it can cause a negative impact on our writing lives and the development of our stories.

Some time ago, I found myself writing on three different stories at the same time!!

The time, energy and creative effort that I was putting on the three stories was huge, so great that it drained me completely and I almost lost the will to write for a very long time. Also, I feel that when you work on many separate ideas then your work can suffer from a quality loss...

My advice would be to choose a project and dedicate your energy to it, and to it alone. Then, when you have suddenly other ideas you can write them down somewhere (in case that you decide not to use the new ideas in your current project) and use them later for some other story.

Something that is critically important for Writers is Discipline, always keep that in mind =)

 

[Weaver]

Hey guys,

I'm not sure if there is a previous thread on this somewhere, there probably is, but I thought I would bring it up anyway.

I have a wild imagination, my head is constantly full of ideas, to such an extent it actually keeps me up at night sometimes. I'm one of those people who starts a novel, then two chapters in I have a brand new fantastic idea, which just wont translate into the same novel ... so I start another one.

Are there any other sufferers of this over-active imagination disease?
And is there a cure?...

There's a "cure" for having any imagination at all, but you wouldn't like it.

I have too many ideas sometimes, too, and all of mine are even somewhat confined by being interconnected.

If the problem is that you can't work on a current project once something new pops into your head, try just writing that new idea down briefly and promise it that it'll get its turn with your full attention once you're done with what you'd already started.

 

[Azza]

Great suggestions and advice guys! Thanks a lot for taking the time to post!

Yes, I think the key is focusing on one piece and being disciplined enough to finish it no matter what - and write my ideas down in note form somewhere where I can access them again after finishing my work-in-progress. It is a real problem and it does hinder my writing quite badly. It often threatens the integrity of my plot, as I'll come up with an idea for a brand new character and incorporate him/her into the book somehow, even if it doesn't fit with the story or the rules of my world.

I'm 19 now and have been writing since I was 11 - at first it didn't matter if my stories made no sense or had random, impossible characters or creatures because they were only for my own reading. But now, hoping to publish, I need to work on the consistency and for me, it's one of the greatest challenges in writing.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Ideas are useless. It's what you do with them that matters.

It's a bit of a bold statement and it's not entirely correct. Ideas aren't useless. Ideas are great, but if you don't do anything with them they're as good as useless. Keeping this in mind is one of the things that helps me stay focused on what I'm working on at the moment.
New ideas keep popping up and demanding attention - whether I want them to or not. Some of them keep coming back as they're associated with my current WIP. Other ideas get bored and go bother someone else, never to come back again. It doesn't matter. I can't remember a single great idea that I've forgotten and can't get back. I'm sure it's happened, but it's irrelevant.
What matters is the idea I had at the start, because that idea was awesome too. As I planned the story out I had other ideas and I added them to the story, fleshing it out and improving it. Now, while writing it up I keep getting ideas. If they're nice and tidy little ideas that don't bother the big grown-up ideas I let them join in and play for a bit and then send them off to come back later. If they want to, they will. Big burly ideas that just mess around and bully the other ideas will have to stay outside though.

Sometimes it's tough, but I'll have to trust in my original idea and its companions. I've worked with them and I need to remember what a great impression they made when I first met them. Sure, they may feel a bit old and dull now and then, but they're solid, reliable ideas and I know that if I just stick with them, they won't let me down.

 

[Spider]

Don't we all love creative ADD? It's better than writer's block, IMO, but it can be a great distraction from whatever you're working on. That's why I keep a journal where I write down all the story ideas I have and try to forget about it afterwards. Another problem I had was sometimes I would want to incorporate those ideas into my WIP, even if it strayed from the plot. I would end up having too many subplots and things would get confusing. Anyone else used to do/still does this?

 

[Pythagoras]

The worst time to get creative ADD is just when you're about to fall asleep, and you're jolted awake by an idea. It's a golden one, but you just don't want to get out of your comfortable, warm bed to grab the notebook that you left across the room for some dumb reason. But the idea nags at you, until you drag yourself out of that nice bed to scribble it down, hoping it will leave you alone until the morning. But it won't. Good luck getting sleep now.

I complain, but some of the ideas that have defined my work have happened in this way. However, that doesn't mean I go straight to them. I write them down so I can forget them. They have their place. I just may not have gotten that far yet.

Don't be too eager to incorporate your new ideas the minute they come to you. Ideas are like eggs. They need a little incubation before they hatch into a chick. And eventually, that chick will only lay more eggs for you. It's an endless, wonderful cycle.

 

[Weaver]

Another problem I had was sometimes I would want to incorporate those ideas into my WIP, even if it strayed from the plot. I would end up having too many subplots and things would get confusing. Anyone else used to do/still does this?

I used to do this far too often, but over the years I've gotten better at pruning the extra stuff out even if I can't prevent it from sneaking in to begin with. Currently, one WiP is getting pruned to remove some of the 'large weather' that looked great when I first started working on the story, but now it's only something that would detract from the real focus of this novel. I'll save it for later.

Something related to the 'too many subplots' problem is 'too many characters.' Not too large a cast of really minor people and unanimous walk-ons, but too many major supporting cast types, characters who demand their fair share of screen time (page space) and who have fascinating backstories that you just know reaaders will want to hear all about... Sometimes you gotta say, Dude, wait for your own book; this is someone else's story.

 

[Weaver]

Ideas are like eggs. They need a little incubation before they hatch into a chick. And eventually, that chick will only lay more eggs for you. It's an endless, wonderful cycle.

You get chickens from yours...? Mine keep producing reptiles, mostly. *shrug*

 

[Spider]

You get chickens from yours...? Mine keep producing reptiles, mostly. *shrug*

Chickens and reptiles are okay, but you can't beat my platypus.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Chickens and reptiles are okay, but you can't beat my platypus.

Who would want to beat a platypus?!? *hugs platypus*