Manage Your Ideas

Having too many ideas is a dilemma writers often struggle with. While it might seem like a good problem for writers to have, it can actually impede writing production because the writer may have trouble sifting through multiple ideas and selecting one to focus on. There may be too many possibilities and trying to narrow them down may be overwhelming and distracting. There are some tips you can employ, however, if you find yourself in this predicament. Write down each idea on a separate piece of paper and sort them from most appealing to least appealing. Then select the top three that you find most exciting and feel most motivated to write about. This selection process is important because, if you are excited about an idea, your writing will reflect that excitement and be more effective. Consider your top three selections and ask yourself which one you care most about. If you find this hard to decide, ask yourself which of your top three ideas do you know the most about. This knowledge base will make your writing process easier than researching something from scratch that you know little or nothing about. Also, ask yourself which idea seems to have the widest reader appeal. You don't want to write something that readers won't find interesting, even if it interests you. Finally, ask yourself which idea you will be likely to execute the most successfully and the most expediently. You want to set yourself up for success, not failure; and honing in on ideas that are most likely to bring about that success will give you the confidence to keep writing. Don't be afraid to generate lots of ideas, but learn how to control and manage those ideas instead of letting them manage you.