How To Handle The Book Idea Which Keeps Tricking You Into Thinking…It Is Ready To Be Written #MondayBlogs

Some story ideas enter your mind and allow you to write them straightaway. However, some will trick you into thinking that they are ready to be written. These book ideas are pesky little devils. They will whisper in your ear that you should rush ahead and start writing them. They will stroke your creative ego, tell you they are a guaranteed future best seller and remind you that there is no time like the present. You will skip the thinking part and go straight into getting the words out. However, after a few chapters you will start to huff and puff. It has become apparent that this idea was not ready to be written. They tricked you. You rushed in believing they were ready to be written when really they needed more work. In your ear you will hear their wicked laugh as you walk away feeling deflated. If you looked back at your writing desk you would see your naughty little book idea pulling faces and skipping happily around your laptop.

A lot of the time we give up on book ideas too quickly because they were not ready to be written.

Before I blame the book ideas, let’s remind ourselves that we live in a world where everything is now now now. Sometimes this instant gratification desire spills into our creative work. We dive into writing ‘chapter one’ just so that we can get out our creative need met quicker. Even though we have a few pages of notes and a gang of boisterous fictional characters inside our head, the book idea might still require some thinking time. This is sadly one of the reasons why we hit Writer’s Block during a first draft.

Ideas for books can appear so attractive. They dance before our eyes and dazzle us with their future potential. It is so easy to drive off into the literary sunset with a mischievous book idea. You disregard the need to think the plot some more or come up with a better form of conflict. All common writer sense is flung out of the window. The sooner you write this idea the better. Fast forward a month and you will be holding your head in your hands asking yourself why your book idea is not working.

I am guilty of writing story ideas straightaway when they should have been left to stew for a little bit longer. Patience is not one of my virtues. I get so excited with new ideas and try to write them as soon as they appear. This results in literary pain.

What I have learnt is that if you feel like you are being led astray by a naughty book idea and you are skipping the tough thinking bit – ask yourself is it ready to be written? Maybe consider the following?

Are your characters strong enough? Do they need more development? Can you see how the entire story will pan out?Do you have enough obstacles standing in your character’s way? Have you got your inciting incident worked out?

We must remember book ideas are special gifts and not all book ideas should be treated the same.

Have you experienced the pesky little book idea which has tricked you into thinking it is ready to be written?