As a writer, having lots of ideas can be useful and motivating, yet it can also be overwhelming. Why overwhelming? Because it can feel like there is not enough time to turn those ideas into stories or even explore them fully.
When writing a story, we have to pick one idea and run with it. Of course, that one idea can be tied to a host of ideas that are related/connected with it. Having lots of ideas in this sense is helpful and productive.
But having a lot of project ideas is what can be overwhelming for a writer. A writer only has so much time to write, and each project can take hours, weeks, or months to complete. Not only that, a writer may get tons of ideas that just keep piling up. There aren’t enough days in a lifetime to get through all of them.
Before I start on a project, I try to include as many ideas that I can from my to-do list. I know I won’t have enough time to write all of the stories I want, so I combine them together in one story.
And when those ideas meet, it can create something that is truly unique and comprehensive of our vision. It’s like putting all the best scenes together in one story. It’s a great and rewarding feeling, since those filed away ideas now have a life now.
Fallton Havenstonne 