how do you choose which ideas to pursue?

doeraymee

doeraymee

On another thread here, someone was looking for writers without ideas. Personally, I've never met one of those. Usually the people I know who write have WAY too many ideas! That's including me. How do you decide which idea(s) to pursue? and which types of writing to pursue as well? Do you focus on articles and try to become great at them? or short stories-- do you study and pursue them instead? or what about that novel that's been nagging you -- is it worth putting some of your limited time and energy into that? do you focus? or diversify? Do you have any guidelines that help you decide which path to pursue?
Just curious to see how others manage! (and looking for more reasons to put off making those decisions.... kill time on Talkback instead! lol)

Daisy

Some idea don't develop that much so I leave them for now.  The ones I get excited about the most are the ones I turn into stories.

dorothyd

before my work was dictated by Others, I used to go with the idea that was the strongest at the time.  In a way I am still doing that, as the Island book has taken over from the biography but should produce more instant results, in that it is a self publishing project for the Isle of Wight.  But, I could not have done it if They had not permitted it, They being the spirits who are controlling the work.  I hope they hurry up and decide whose story is to be told next.  I think I know who it is but it keeps changing.

Carol

I would say it depends on what is the most urgent- be that deadlines or a subject/idea that refuses to get out of the way.
Sometimes I get ideas for a story, but I can't get beyond the start, other times it flows and I must get it all out.

Soobdoo

I concentrate on what I feel is the strongest and make a note of all the others for later.
I have to admit that some days I feel as if my choice is rubbish. On those days everything I do seems like a waste of time.

Cameron

My ideas come from maybe a story I've read or some crisis that is happening to me or within my family or someone else. They swirl about and come out in a moment of realisation that it might be the beginning of a story. I suppose you must choose the format - a true story, an article, a piece of writing or the beginning of an novel. If you come across a piece of writing in a magazine that says to you - I could do that. That would be a starting point.

pamela

Ideas swirl about for different lengths of time. Some press more than others. I have just strarted a story that has been 'there' for about six/seven years. I have tried several times to get it onto paper but it would not come out in a way that I felt was saying what I wanted. Last week whilst waiting for my son to finish a piano lesson it just came. I wasn't even thinking about it at the time, it just suddenly pushed its' way through everything else. I ended up with about 500 words written on different bits of paper. I have experienced this kind of thing before. What is it about? Are we more pursued than pursuing?

dorothyd

Pamela, I think we are!  I had an idea for a short story recently, a ghost one for Autumn, which is odd as I haven't written a short story in 15 years!  It came out of nowhere and persisted until I wrote it.  I have recently revived the first 300 words or so of a novel which may do my company well, after ignoring that for at least two years. It surfaced in the middle of the night ... so yes, I think we are more pursued than pursuing!

pamela

dorothyd, I once wrote a ghost story that came, almost, from nowhere. I had never written a ghost story before, had never considerd it my thing, thought they were a bit twee even and then there is this story forming itself. The central character came from real life, an article I read somewhere, but it manifested itself in this odd way and was published...my first publication...the story was determined to be told.