By Mona Andrei
There’s something about being a writer that gives us an ingrained ability to generate a constant flow of ideas. Whether they come to us while we’re in the shower or wake us up in the middle of the night, the hamster that lives in the creative recesses of our brains just never stops.
The problem with this is that it’s hard to focus on a single idea long enough to actually develop it into a finished piece. Notebooks get filled with thoughts and inspiration and then filed under the letter “T” (for “To get to”) only to be forgotten – or better yet, replaced with the next brilliant idea.
The truth is that although many of our ideas fall under the category of “great”, unless developed into an actual article, book, etc., an idea will always remain just that: an idea.
Could it be that as writers we’re driven by a fear of running out of ideas? Do we subconsciously believe that if we stop the influx of brilliant thoughts, the well will dry up?
Impossible!
Ideas will always happen for us. As writers, it’s simply who we are. Focusing or funnelling our thoughts in the direction of developing a single idea into an article, book, etc. will not only result in the development of a finished and marketable piece, it will also take us down the path to “prolific writer”.
After all, an idea is really just the tip of the iceberg of the masterpiece that dwells within.
The good news is that if you dream of transforming yourself from being a “writer” into a “prolific writer”, you can!
While the writer is consumed by an avalanche of ideas, the prolific writer is consumed by ONE idea at a time.
Following are a few tips to help you focus your ideas for a more productive writing life!
- Visualize the completed piece.Visualizing a particular writing project in its completed form will help guide that hamster into a focused overdrive, generating ideas that are specific to that project.
- Take smaller bites.
Try breaking up a project into smaller tasks. The sense of accomplishment that you’ll get with each task crossed off your list will both inspire and motivate you to finish and submit it for publication, etc. - Give your notes a title.Ideas breed more ideas. The simple act of writing the project’s name at the top of your notebook page will help you to focus your thoughts on that project only.
A focused mind always leads to happy writing!
Mona Andrei is a Montreal-based freelance writer who has been serving editors and business owners since 1992. During her downtime she can be found with pen and paper at one of her favourite writing spots (anywhere that serves a good cup of coffee or nice Shiraz), writing the latest post for her personal blog, moxie-dude.com
Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.