Eureka moments are one of the best things about being a writer: that excitement you get when a new idea hits; the surge of creative energy.
But before you go off and write 80,000 words in a fit of mania, slow down for a second and ask yourself these three questions.
1. What's different about this idea? Has it been done a zillion times before?
2. Is there enough potential for conflict to carry this idea through a full-length novel?
3. Does this idea fit in with my genre of writing? Is it the type of genre I'd want to first be published in? Does it even fit comfortably into a genre?
When I get a new idea, I try now to let it sit for a week or two before I go back to it -- long enough to let the fervour die down, so I can examine it with objective eyes. If, after answering those three questions, I still feel excited, then I go for it!
How do you deal with new ideas?
Significant Other Blogfest Tomorrow! Drop by to see what Mr TR has to say about my writing (among other things!).
But before you go off and write 80,000 words in a fit of mania, slow down for a second and ask yourself these three questions.
1. What's different about this idea? Has it been done a zillion times before?
2. Is there enough potential for conflict to carry this idea through a full-length novel?
3. Does this idea fit in with my genre of writing? Is it the type of genre I'd want to first be published in? Does it even fit comfortably into a genre?
When I get a new idea, I try now to let it sit for a week or two before I go back to it -- long enough to let the fervour die down, so I can examine it with objective eyes. If, after answering those three questions, I still feel excited, then I go for it!
How do you deal with new ideas?
Significant Other Blogfest Tomorrow! Drop by to see what Mr TR has to say about my writing (among other things!).
good advice! I write ideas in the back of my notebook but i only use the ones that keep niggling at me! I think no.2 is a good tip and an importent question to ask early on as it helps separate potential novels from potential stories and saves a lot of wasted energy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Niamh. I learned these things the hard way! :) I hope they help others.
ReplyDeleteI write till I exhaust the idea then forget about it. If the idea keeps thumping my brain, I'll go back. I've learned that some ideas though are merely cathartic, and that's all.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Right now I've been writing the first 250 words or so. I have about four projects on mind. Soon, I'll choose one to move forward on.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I always travel around with a pen strung around my neck and some bits of paper (not strung around my neck - and by bits, I mean receipt tills, metro, erm.. tissue..)!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice, Talli!! Thank you! take care
x
Good advice Talli. For me, the problem is keeping that energy up to follow through on an idea. It's funny how the 'idea' can seem so wonderful until you start trying to put it to paper!
ReplyDeleteHmm. I've really only ever had one idea that was worthy of a novel (I hope). I'll have to get back to you if any others ever come to me.
ReplyDeleteI have a little black moleskine book to jot down ideas. It used to be scraps of paper in the bottom of my bag, but I lost them!
ReplyDeleteNow all I have to do is remember to read the book! ;0
Probably a good idea. I know I've burnt out passion for an idea after going after it too hard many times.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think it well out, talk it out, write it out in journal notes or a rough outline to be sure the story will stay together before I get too deep into it.
ReplyDeleteI've come up with a grip of eureka ideas, but I'm not sure I'm the person to write them! :P I always looks up my ideas on Amazon. The key words show up for all the books, so you can make sure no one has done your novel!
ReplyDeleteHi Talli,
ReplyDeleteWhen I get an eureka moment I jot down either the title or the premise of the story. If it's a short story, I develop it fully. If it's for a novel I just write an outline. I let it sit for months. And yes, I do ask those questions, is this a good idea, is it original, etc.
ooh, i always make my new ideas sit for months or years before i take a crack at them. They need a long marinating time to see if they can stand up as a full novel
ReplyDeleteI'm monogamous...one project at a time. The idea's you speak of get written down in a notebook and someday I'll return to one of them, but I'm continually mulling them over in the back of my mind. A sort of marianting. I never let a "Eureka" idea move forward with out a considerable amount of thought first. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I freakin stress until I can get Word open and start jotting them all down at the speed of light. So glad I'm a fast typist ... so SO glad we're not still in the quill and ink days! :D <3 xoxo
ReplyDeleteGetting some distance from your ideas is a good plan. Even with short stories I find that I need to let the idea brew a bit to see if it's good enough to actually turn into a story.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip Talli! I normally let the idea mature for a while, but the questions you outlined are perfect.
ReplyDeleteI keep a folder of ideas and let them marinate over time. In the files are main plot ideas, genre, and character influence.
ReplyDeleteI've also found after certain ideas have sat for awhile, I'm not as enthused about them as I orginally had been. Which helps me decide which are keepers and long lasting for me. If you can't keep the excitment of an idea, more than likely you'll lose interest half way through the book. (Hugs)Indigo
If I can remember an idea that strikes me for more than a day, then it has a good chance of being developed into a story. Otherwise it's a scrap of paper that sticks to my leg for a moment in a windstorm.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I've been wondering: Once a genre is chosen and something finally gets published, how difficult is it to break into something new? Do writers become like character actors, only picked for roles that the audience is used to seeing them in?
I wasn't sure about #2 when I first started the sequel to my book, but ample conflict has since presented itself!
ReplyDeleteYou are a wise woman to let it sit for awhile. I am usually all over it like a new puppy and I get worn out immediately!
ReplyDeleteYour ideas can be applied to any creative profession.
ReplyDeleteI also try to understand how much of an idea is my own, and to what extent I would like to develop it in the future.
Oh, ideas! I get way too many of them to keep up. I don’t even acknowledge an idea unless it’s been on my head for a while. And even then, I write down the idea on a small sheet of paper and toss it into an empty chocolate box so when I’m ready to start writing something new, I could just pull it out and start writing. Otherwise, if I were to write any idea that jumped to mind, I would be in the middle of 100 books at the same time.
ReplyDeleteMy mind is continually spinning its idea wheel, so much so that I can lose focus on what I'm currently writing, so I'll jot down the important notes and leave it for awhile. If it nags (and some have) I'll go back to it when I can. I've got a nagging idea right now, but it'll have to wait.. :)
ReplyDeleteHow impressive that you let it sit in your head for awhile. Sometimes I can do that, sometimes not so much. Every so often I lose an idea if I let it sit too long.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice on Eurekas!
ReplyDeleteI usually write some of it down, then let it stew for a while; if I still have the urge to work some more on it later, then I'll accept it as a viable project.
I honestly never thought about things like this when an idea occured. It's a great idea! So great that I'm going to write these questions down and ask them of myself next time I get an idea. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI write it down in my notebook usually and let it stew for a while. My NaNo idea was something I had been thinking about for a year or so. I have to get all angles ingrained into my subconscious. I also have at least 10 novel ideas so most have to wait. :D Great tips!
ReplyDeleteI try to look at them objectively, but instead of taking a few weeks before I write them,I go ahead and write them. If I don't, I tend to loose a lot of details. After I write it I'll read it again a couple days later and sometimes it turns out the idea wasn't so great, but sometimes it turns out amazing and I'm really happy that I got all the details down. Worse case scenario is that it's useless, but at least then I've written something and hopefully gotten a little closer to solving the problem.
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat's good advice, it's so frustrating when that great idea just runs out of fizz.
ReplyDeleteI like to scribble things down and come back to any ideas that are still playing on my mind, trouble is if I leave it too long, I can't always read my own writing and can't remember what I was trying to say!!
I write mine in a notebook. If it is particularly persistent, sometime I will write a little on it, but USUALLY what happens is some OTHER idea will then bug me... and I write THAT down (and maybe a 3rd) and then some epiphany will tie them together so I feel confident it is original (if complicated)
ReplyDeleteExcellent tips! When I have a new idea, I'm always, always working on something else. So I write it in an idea journal and let it simmer until I'm finished with my current project.
ReplyDeleteThen, I spend a few hours or days coming up with as many possible scenarios to flesh the original idea out until it's ready.
Don't you love new ideas? *sigh*
Yeah, I do the same. I'll come up with the greatest mystery story ever and then have to take it back a step and figure out if it's been done and how I can make my novel unique.
ReplyDeleteCD
I write flash pieces, short stories, and novels so no 2 doesn't really apply to me. But you're right, just because an idea comes to you and is shiny and new doesn't mean it should necessarily be the next one you write.
ReplyDeleteThat's what blogs are for. Those ideas that can't be stretched out.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to let the idea sit for a while and see if you're still as excited about it. And I worry about dabbling in a different genre - I'm writing the first draft of book two (started during NaNo) and it is in a completely different genre to my first book. Of course, it's highly likely neither will end up being the first book of mine to be published, but I do wonder about which I would prefer to be the first. In the meantime, though, I'm just going to enjoy writing them!
ReplyDeletethink I need to borrow a Eureka moment, Talli...
ReplyDeleteReally good advice! It's easy to get carried away - and then realize 1/2way through the idea doesn't have enough something!
ReplyDeleteThese are definitely great questions to ask yourself when getting a new idea. I often try to add a few details to my idea, then let it sit for a few weeks to a few months before actually working on it. :)
ReplyDeleteGood idea! I usually mull over my ideas on the 50 minute drive to work... that way I can decide if they're garbage or not :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful checklist! I've taken to keeping paper and pen next to the bed and in the bathroom. I get some of my best ideas from dreams or while I'm in the shower. But sometimes my best ideas just aren't able to sustain an entire novel. Luckily I love to write shorts and flash fiction too.
ReplyDeleteTypically if I get a new idea that really hits me I'll write it down and maybe add notes to it over a period of time. I rarely get gung-ho into something except for my 2 NaNo projects. Usually after a while the idea kind of cools off to be thought about later or not. I have notebooks filled with ideas.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
cant wait for tomorrow
ReplyDeleteHi Talli .. writing posts - I write so many in my head .. I just a magic jelly to take them to the laptop so they can be turned into iced jellies for ever!
ReplyDeleteI can quite understand the idea of mulling a thought over .. and I love the questions you ask ..
Looking forward to tomorrow .. cheers Hilary
Great advice and I usually do the same, even with my short stories!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I usually sit around with an idea for months before I commit it to the page. It has to feel solid first, you know?
ReplyDeleteGood advice. I'm far too fond of going off on one with an idea and then dribbling to a halt when I realise it's All Been Done Before just when I thought I was being original.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent post, Talli! Really great advice about Sexy New Ideas (or as you call them, Eurekas)...I've added this page to my favorites so I can refer to it in the future. :)
ReplyDelete~TRA
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