Do you ever have trouble reining in your writing? I get inspired by some comics that are these sweeping epics where everything ties together and everything has a deeper meaning. And when I try to to apply these concepts to my writing it just turns into a c

This is the dreaded Scope Creep.

Listen, some people write their first novel and it comes out perfectly, like Watership Down, or something similar, because their minds simply work that way.

Most of us need to learn to run before we do a marathon. You wouldn’t try a Nascar race without practicing on a test track, first. Writing is art, but it’s also a craft, and it’s one where your fastest path to getting better is messing up badly first. Every screw up sharpens your tools.

Scope Creep in writing is when you just let everything spread out so much that the core ideas can get lost. Always ask yourself, what is the heart of this story, what is its essence, what is it about? Is it about that guy walking by witnessing the main action? No? Then get rid of him, don’t follow him home. 

Focus. 

There are books that welcome sprawl. But they take a long time to learn how to master. And I am ALL ABOUT finishing things. If you get frustrated, you are unlikely to finish. Try a tighter, more effective story. Cut the crap out, slice it away. Some of the most effective stories ever told are short stories. Sprawl is often confused with quality or depth, and the truth is, it is just as likely to be unnecessary gristle and waste. 

Tighten your story. You don’t try to climb Mt. Everest FIRST. 

And finally, each thing you finish makes you a better writer, I firmly believe that. So if Scope Creep is stopping you from finishing, then abolish Scope Creep entirely.