Anyone else having this problem? I have so many ideas I'm working on--or trying to--that it's frustrating me. There's the story (it should be a short) that involves the boats, the one about the physician in a post-apocolypse that will probably be a novella, a long novel I'm outlining, and several short stories I'm polishing. I have two posted on Baen and one at Critter's Workshop coming up. And another novel that is knocking on the door demanding to be let out but I just don't have time.
Posted by darklight (Member # 5213) on :
I have too many novels that need editing. Two actually, and another that's in the middle of a rewrite, and one I'm having no luck at all in finding an agent for. Oh, and a WotF story I'm supposed to be writing. Plus several ideas floating around my head, and some other old novels I'd love to get my hands on.
All this adds up to one thing: I get nothing done.
Seriously, I stare at my computer screen for hours and don't know what the heck to start on and end up doing nothing. And the fact that my work place is in the living room, which is the main thoroughfare of my house, and there's the TV and the cats climbing on my laptop, and teenagers...
To answer the question, yes, I have too many ideas.
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
I feel your pain. I have several stories, well Ideas for stories that never seem to get fully developped, but they are all making progress, slowly, but surely.
I tend to get distracted, but just be glad that you have great ideas. It is better than being uninspired
Focus when you can and take notes. It has helped me to do plott worksheets where I write the synopsis and ideas I have for development. It serves as a record of my progress and from time to time I see one all the way through.
Good luck
Posted by Crank (Member # 7354) on :
I agree with Bent Tree...do not bemoan having too many good ideas.
The problem, as it occurs in my life, is that I attempt to work on too many of these ideas simultaneously. My current workload involves:
- a young adult novel that is almost ready for an agent - two science fiction novels that are in various stages of disarray - two science fiction short stories that I'm tweaking before I send them out to the next market on the list - three brand new science fiction short stories that are in various stages of not being anywhere near completed - a forgotten number of poems and/or lyrics
...and those are only the projects I'm currently working on. I've got several others waiting impatiently on my bookshelf and on my hard drive. Actually...some of them never made it out of my head. That explains the dizziness.
S! S!...C!
Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :
Maybe it's an Adult ADD symptom. I'm researching Adult ADD for the piece I'm writing and what you're describing sounds like it might fit.
You might read up on it to see what you think. Something like Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet might help.
Click here for some resources. I just stumbled on this site a few minutes ago by Googling, so I can't vouch for it in any way, but it looks legit. Warning: contains advertisements.
Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :
Hm... I don't think it's a symptom of a disorder. I think it's the nature of being a creative person engaged in a creative pursuit that excites him or her. And, of course, that the day is only so long, and somehow we have to squeeze in eating, sleeping, and loving, too.
[This message has been edited by annepin (edited July 09, 2008).]
Posted by innesjen (Member # 6126) on :
I completely understand. I have so many ideas and not enough time to use them all. When deciding which project to work on, I try to determine which idea I'm most interested in, so hopefully my excitement about the story will hold and I can stay focused on finishing that story before starting work on a new one. I also try to only work on one project at a time (if possible) so that I don't burn out on everything I'm trying to accomplish.
Good luck!
Posted by aspirit (Member # 7974) on :
I filter with, "Whatever calls out first comes out first." The first idea to distract me in the morning, or after any long break from writing, is the idea I focus on. Of course, I'm new to this process, so my techniques may not be sensible.
Posted by aspirit (Member # 7974) on :
Oh, yeah, the reasoning behind my method is that I cannot objectively prioritize my own ideas or accomplish anything while juggling several incompatible ideas.
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
Did I mention I'm editing a novel too?
Working on one project at a time doesn't work for me since that would mean I never got any short stories written--that being because I'm always working on novels at some stage. My problem is that I really want to get them all written, but at the same time they sometimes take forever to get as good as I want them. The two stories on Baen (I love Baen for polishing--I use both the JBU Slush and the Slush Pile) have taken me a long time to get close to the point I want them. I think they're close now.
Sorry for rambling. You're right. There are worse things than having too many ideas.
Posted by Rommel Fenrir Wolf II (Member # 4199) on :
I suffer from the same thing. Try drinking, it helps me a lot. It slows down your thoughts and helps you pull many ideas into one.
RFW2nd
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I'm burdened by my vast knowledge of the field---everything I come up with seems old hat and unoriginal, and it's hard to motivate myself to start working on something. Even what I do work on and finish seems like something somebody did better years ago.
I have to write something---it's too ingrained a habit to stop now---but it's getting near impossible to get an idea that moves me enough to write it up...
Posted by Crystal Stevens (Member # 8006) on :
I seem to have the opposite problem. I will come up with some ideas and try them on for size only to reject them because they don't work for me.
I might go through several ideas in my head before finding one that will work. Then, once I start jotting down ideas, an outline, or even a rough draft it just kind of wanders off into the ozone and gets lost. I had one idea that I thought was super, but discovered I had no idea how it would end. It was so frustrating.
So, I'm rather limited when it comes to ideas. Either that or I'm just too darn picky!
Whatever...
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
I honestly don't care if the idea has been done before. It's in the telling and what you do with it. Almost nothing in Lord of the Rings was truly new but it was different than anything that had been done before, nonetheless. When Carey retold the story with different characters in The Sundering it still wasn't new, but she told it very differently than Tolkien did. Macbeth wasn't new either. You get the idea.
I rarely start something I don't finish. It's either stubbornness or determination. You choose.
Posted by RobertB (Member # 6722) on :
Once I get started on something I finish it, but I've got a stack of ideas in the process of development. Some will get written, some won't. My current WIP started with a daydream I developed in French lessons forty years ago, so it can be a long gestation.
Posted by Crystal Stevens (Member # 8006) on :
Oh, I haven't completely given up on the one with no ending. I've kept all my notes, and it's on the back burner for now.
If my one novel ever takes off, I already have a rough draft started on a sequel. I think it could develop into a series with no problem.
My novella could be expanded into a novel, too, with all kinds of possibilities as a limited series. Maybe four or five books worth.
My first writing attempt turned into a trilogy but it still needs a lot of work. I've learned so much about writing since I started that one, and it needs a major overhaul.
So, yes, I have several things going on right now, but I still find super good story ideas are rare... at least for me .
[This message has been edited by Crystal Stevens (edited July 11, 2008).]
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I did come up with what looks like a pretty good idea today...but I also like to chew on it for awhile, while I decide the minor things like who to put into it and how it goes from Point A to Point B. (Oddly enough, I have a pretty definite ending---the beginning and middle are unclear to me.)
