Back in December, I wrote about seasons of creativity and creative winters. Creative winters are seasons when might you find yourself unable to come up with a decent idea for a story, regardless of what you do. Or maybe the ideas are simmering, but with all your other responsibilities or hardships, writing feels harder than it used to.
Some of you might be heading into a creative winter as you start a new school semester. This is the time of year when we often receive emails from college students who are saddened by how little attention they’re able to give their writing.
Today, however, is about the creative season of spring. When you have All The Ideas and All The Inspiration to the point where you feel a bit frantic. Everything is shiny and new! What should get your attention? You’ll obsess about one idea for a week or two, but then another one arrives. Then just as you have your Pinterest board set up for that idea, another one comes!
Does this sound familiar? This is kinda what my head feels like right now, and it can be overwhelming and chaotic.
All the ideas popping up at once remind me of the daffodils in my backyard. Ours are so crowded because I don’t know how to thin them out (is it just as easy as pulling some…?) None of them flower because they’re not getting the nutrition they need, because there’s not enough dirt space to go around.
That’s what has happened as I’ve tried to divide myself between all my ideas, and as I recognized this problem, two things came to mind:
The first is from Jill’s post in January about Sage Cohen’s reflections that Martin Luther King Junior declared he had one dream. Picking one thing I want to focus on has lots of advantages. (Read Jill’s post. And all of Sage’s books. Fantastic.)
I also thought of Finish by Jon Acuff (I know, I bring that book up a lot!) He talks about how we’re never more creative with new ideas than when we’re trying to make progress on an old one. He says:
Want to create a reward [for finishing] you really love? When new ideas or new goals get shiny, put them at the finish line. Don’t try to grow callous to the shiny objects; if anything, let them gleam. Let them be brighter than the noonday sun. Just make sure they point the way to the finish line.
He’s saying that when you’ve done the thing Sage Cohen advises—picked ONE focus—but those new ideas pop up, don’t ignore them. Save them as your reward for when you’re done with this current thing. I love that.
But if you’re not under contract or facing a real deadline, how do you know this is the idea you should be chasing? How do you pick your ONE thing?
There are no hard-and-fast rules for this one, and ultimately you’re the decider of what ideas are worth your investment of time, but here are four things I consider when trying to choose:
Which idea feels most fun?
This does not mean that I feel excited every single moment I’m working with the idea. It’s nice when that happens, but it’s not very realistic to think you’ll feel that way every moment.
My son often drags his feet when it’s time to get ready for baseball practice, but then he has a lot of fun when he’s actually there. That’s what I’m measuring. When I work on the different ideas, which one brings me the most joy?
Does this idea align with “the writer I want to be”?
(If not, am I okay with that?)
Something else I use to guide me is Shan’s question of, “What kind of writer do I want to be?” This delves into basic things like genre choices, but also deeper issues like measuring success, caring for my health, or deciding on my pace.
I frequently have ideas—for stories, promotions, etc.—that don’t quite fit the writer I want to be for a variety of reasons. I view this the same as I do when the random red tulip pops up in my landscaping. The previous owners planted it, and when spring arrives, there comes that lone red tulip. It’s a beautiful tulip … but it doesn’t really belong there with the shrubbery and grass.
As a gardener, I get to ask “Do I want to plant more tulips so that it belongs, or do I want to cut this one and take it inside to enjoy privately?” As a writer, I ask the same thing about those random, doesn’t-quite-fit-my-brand-or-my-budget ideas. Do I want to expand who I am as a writer? Do I want to save this idea for later? Do I want to write it just for me?
Does this idea have potential to be a great story that others would want to read?
I may not literally sit down and ask these questions every time, but they’re on my mind because writing is my career:
- Does this story have a compelling main character?
- Is the plot interesting and unique?
- Is my setting interesting?
- Is my theme something I’m passionate about?
- How would I pitch this novel to my agent or editor? Which is often the same or similar to the question:
- How would I market this book?
Those specifics are critical for me making good decisions about what projects I pursue.
If I could only write one more story…
I don’t remember where I saw James Scott Bell say this, nor do I remember exactly how this goes (sorry, JSB!), but the essence of the writing exercise is this:
- If you could only write one more story in your lifetime, what would it be?
- Write that story.
Sometimes that question is a bit too loaded to be helpful, but at other times it really crystallizes for me what book feels most urgent to me. I’ll think something like, “While these other ideas sound fun, this is what I would pick if I could only pick one more to write.” That’s how I ended up writing The Lost Girl of Astor Street, even though I wasn’t technically a historical writer yet!
Also, this isn’t a forever relationship
Not to totally contradict everything I just said about finishing projects and devoting yourself to one thing, but the good thing about picking a story idea is it’s not a “Til death do us part” commitment.
If you make a decision, but a week from now you regret it, you can just put that idea away for a while and pull out a different one. Sometimes we let the decision feel too heavy and permanent, leading to indecision, when it would be better to just pick a direction and see where it goes.
What season do you think best describes your writing right now?:
Winter: I’m not able to write right now. The desire and creativity are still there, but they’re dormant.
Spring: Ideas are coming up everywhere!
Summer: I am writing regularly, and I’m producing a steady harvest.
Fall: I’m winding down and can tell I’m transitioning into a time away from writing.
I’m in a “summer” mode right now, I think.
Excellent, Thea!
It’s summer for me, but there’s a drought going on–I know what I’m working on and am excited about it, but actually harvesting the words is hard work. 🙂
Same! It’s crazy. I’m finally on book 2, but now that I have finished book 1 (it has taken me the past five years) I no longer feel like writing. I might take a break and work on some other short stories that I have ideas for.
Oh, that’s interesting! A season within a season. That’s a unique challenge!
I needed the “this isn’t forever” bit. Deciding on what to write can be hard enough without adding more pressure.
Another question I ask myself is if I’m equipped yet to write that story. I have several book ideas I’ve been sitting on for years that I know require more skill/finesse than I can handle right now.
I’d say I’m in a fall season. Have 1 to 2 months left until my first draft’s done, so gotta hang in there until then. 🙂
Samantha I’ve definitely had stories like that! There are still some that I’ve tried a few times to write, and it’s just not time yet.
I’m in summer right now, but I’m afraid that with the start of college fast approaching, I could descend into fall or winter. Hopefully I’ll still be able to write a little each day, even if it is just a tiny amount, just to stay consistent and make some progress.
If you set a goal, I highly recommend setting a SMALL goal like you mentioned, especially for your freshman year. Not every season is a writing season, and that’s okay!
I think I’m in a fall season; words are coming, but I know that with school starting, it will be easy to slip into a winter season if I don’t purpose to write, even if I can only fit it in on the weekends. 😉
When I was in high school, it was really hard to get writing done. I mostly felt inspired during Geometry class, and I don’t really recommend that. (Though so far I’m getting along in life okay with subpar Geometry skills.)
I think I’m in a summer/fall season. Now that school has started, I’m definitely not writing as much as I did in (literal) summer, but I am still able to write pretty consistently.
For me, I love writing, but ideas can be few and far between. Coming up with an idea that really inspires me would help me write more consistently, I think.
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The nice thing about ideas being spaced out a bit more is that it can feel easier to stay focused instead of being tempted to flit from project to project. I’m glad you’re still writing consistently!
I agree with Sophia Ellen about it being fall! School is coming up soon and the only draft I’m finishing is a fanfiction one because my current novel is taking a break before editing, so it’s only a matter of time before I lose steam. I’ve been struggling to choose which draft I want to work on while I edit, so this post has been helpful to me in more than one way. Thank you!
I’m so glad! And working on fanfiction while taking a break before editing is a fantastic use of break time!
Thank you soooo much for writing this, Stephanie! The 4 thoughts on deciding what to write next is exactly what I needed. I had several ideas I really liked, the two most appealing being series. But I didn’t seem to have a set of criteria (or “thoughts” in the case of this blog post) to help me determine which one I should start. I still have trouble guessing at what’s better for the current market, but then again, they say don’t write to current trends…
David, I’m so glad that the timing of this worked well for you!
I definitely agree about not writing to current trends, especially if traditional publishing is the plan since everything moves so slowly. Usually when I’m considering the marketing piece of a book, I’m thinking more about how I would explain the book in a way that sounds interesting, or what kind of nonfiction type hooks I could pull from it. (Like in The Lost Girl of Astor Street, because there is an epilepsy thread in the book and my son had epilepsy at the time, that was part of the marketing plan.)
If I wasn’t trying to get published or already serving a readership, I probably wouldn’t consider that angle when picking a story idea!
Oh, that makes sense—not so much writing to the marking but thinking ahead on how you would market it. Thanks for the clarification!
A fall season. I just started at a new school, and the work load is time-consuming. When I get the rythem, I’m hoping I can get back into a summer. But I need to really work at getting times to write that are non-negotiable.
That is a such a struggle during certain seasons, Aster! Be kind to yourself 🙂
You know what’s funny? I thought back in July about quitting (I actually don’t remember why; it clearly wasn’t important), but here we are. One week away from the finish line!
You’re amazing, Macey!
Thank you! That means a lot to me.
Ooh, I love the idea of using those shiny story ideas as a reward.
Isn’t that brilliant?
Hmm, I need to put that on my wall so I remember. . . .
A spring season here but an early spring, just jumped out of winter. I always have so many ideas, all sound perfect to me. The only problem is, I know that they look like other books (Those I’ve read). And that always bothers me for no reason at all.
Yes, that can feel really frustrating. Even if there are similarities, I bet you’re putting your own unique spin on them!
I’m in a reverse fall season. I’m winding UP out of a winter. 😛
Sounds like an early spring, then 🙂